EDITORIAL

Stay wise, phone scams on the rise

Posted 8/19/21

We generally operate under the assumption that the people we interact with on a day-to-day basis are, for the most part, good people just trying to get through life the same as us. Even if they don't necessarily have our best interests at heart, at the

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EDITORIAL

Stay wise, phone scams on the rise

Posted

We generally operate under the assumption that the people we interact with on a day-to-day basis are, for the most part, good people just trying to get through life the same as us. Even if they don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart, at the very least they aren’t trying to actively harm us. But if you or anyone you know has ever fallen victim to a phone scam, or any other type of scam for that matter, you know all too well that this is little more than wishful thinking. Phone scams, and the scamming operations that coordinate them — often times using robocalling programs, but other times actually employing real people to put on an act and dupe people — combine all the worst qualities of our technological advances of the past decade with the millennia-old propensity for human beings to harm one another for personal gain, resulting in massive profits for scammers and huge financial losses and shame for those who find themselves victimized. If you have a phone, chances are you’ve received at least one attempted scam call in the previous week. More than likely, you’ve received more than one. Phone scamming has become so prolific that, according to the most recent “Truecaller Insights US Spam & Scam Report”, 59.4 million Americans fell victim to a phone scam in the past 12 months. Another 31 percent of Americans reported having been victimized by a phone scam at any point in their lives. The average loss from such a scam was just over $500, amounting to a total loss of nearly $30 billion nationwide between 2020 and 2021. These numbers are all significantly higher than any year prior. Phone scamming operations are opportunistic, and often utilize tactics that will cause victims to be the most reactively frightful of negative consequences, such as threats of jail time, seizing of assets or threats of other types of legal action. The goal is to get the person flustered, and quickly urge them into taking “corrective action” before they ask questions about the authenticity of the call. There’s a reason why three in five Americans (about 59 percent) reported receiving scam calls related to COVID-19 this past year. It is the topic most forward on peoples’ minds that can easily be manipulated due to the fear it instills. If a phone scammer uses a spoofing machine to mimic your area code, and a live person tells you they’re from the Department of Health and that someone who got sick with COVID listed you as a close contact, you would likely see little reason to doubt the veracity of the call. Always keep in mind that you should never need to provide any personal information over the phone unprompted. If you believe the call could be legitimate, ask the person what their position is, where their office is located, who their manager is, etc. They will likely hang up. If they try to provide that information, it will likely reveal an obvious lie. If the voice on the other end sounds like a robot, just hang up. There is no good outcome from interacting with an unsolicited robocall. Those victimized by phone scams likely feel shame that they were tricked, but the shame is on the individuals who seek profit by tricking unsuspecting, trusting people.

The Consumer Protection Unit through the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office provides information on how to prevent being a victim of identity theft and other scams. You can reach them at (401) 274-4400.

phone, scam

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