Survey Shows Top Five U.S. Telephone Scams

Almost nine out of ten Americans (89%) receive unwanted calls each month according to a recent survey which has also revealed the top 5 types of scam people have fallen victim to.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by call blocking specialists CPR Call Blocker, also showed that 11% of US adults have been a victim of a telephone scam. Of those who have been scammed, 20% said they had lost between $500 and $10,000 as a result.

The survey revealed that from a list, victims have been scammed most by:

IRS scams (33%) Credit/Loan scams (31%) Lottery/Sweepstake scams (27%) Banking scams (22%) Automated message scams (16%)

While not all unwanted phone calls are scams, the shocking statistics show that many US consumers are regularly bombarded by unrequested calls from people and organizations for commercial purposes. From long distance call providers through to Robocalls, consumers are continually being targeted over the phone with 14% of people receiving over 30 unwanted calls each month.

The study also suggests that organizations making these unwanted calls are avoiding consumers’ requests to be removed from call lists as 60% claim to receive repeated calls from the same organization despite telling them to stop calling.

“With 89% of people claiming to receive unwanted calls each month, the scale of the problem is out of control,” said Kris Hicks of CPR Call Blocker. “Not only are consumers contending with regular Robocalls, there is also a risk that they could be tricked into giving away personal details and financial information. We hope that by highlighting the most common types of scams out there, people will be more savvy when it comes to saying ‘no’ to unwanted callers.”

CPR Call Blocker commissioned the YouGov research to highlight the scale of unwanted calls across the US. Its V5000 product offers an immediate solution to the problem. The device is plugged into home phones and allows consumers to cut off unwanted calls as they come in and permanently stop them from calling again. It is already installed with 5000 known unwanted phone numbers and gives consumers the option to add a further 1200.

——-