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86.2 Million Phone Scam Calls Delivered Each Month In the US
An anonymous reader writes with a report from Help Net Security which assigns some numbers to the lucrative fraud-by-phone business in the U.S. -- and it's not just the most naive who are vulnerable. "Phone fraud continues to threaten enterprises across industries and borders, with the leading financial institutions' call centers exposed to more than $9 million to potential fraud each year," says the article. "Pindrop analyzed several million calls for threats, and found a 30 percent rise in enterprise attacks and more than 86.2 million attacks per month on U.S. consumers. Credit card issuers receive the highest rate of fraud attempts, with one in every 900 calls being fraudulent."
What's been your experience with fraudulent robocalls? I've been getting them on a near-daily basis -- fake credit card alerts, "computer support" malware-install attempts, and more -- for a few years now, which makes whitelisting seem attractive. ("Bridget from account services" has been robo-calling a lot lately, and each time she says it is my final notice.) My biggest worry is that the people behind these scams, like spammers, will hire copywriters who can fool many more people.
What's been your experience with fraudulent robocalls? I've been getting them on a near-daily basis -- fake credit card alerts, "computer support" malware-install attempts, and more -- for a few years now, which makes whitelisting seem attractive. ("Bridget from account services" has been robo-calling a lot lately, and each time she says it is my final notice.) My biggest worry is that the people behind these scams, like spammers, will hire copywriters who can fool many more people.
I've started seeing the fake caller ID get to the point that it has the same area code and exchange as my own number ... once I apparently even called myself.
Are you sure the call wasn't coming from inside your house?
Use lots and lots of keywords.
When the scammer calls, no matter what the person says at the other end of the line, you say "What did you say? You want to blow up an airliner and kill the president? You're a member of Al-Qeda and ISIS?"
I guarantee that call will go dead and they won't ever call you again.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Fronters may get lunch, but they don't get coffee. Coffee is for closers only.