50 Percent Of Mobile Traffic Will Be Scam Calls In 2019, Study Finds
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Communications experts have found that scam calls are showing no signs of slowing down as the new year approaches. Over 50 billion phone calls were analyzed over the course of 18 months and finds that 50 percent of the calls made in 2019 are likely to be scams.
Another concerning statistic shows that that scam calls are up nearly 130 percent since the same time last year, according to a study by First Orion.
"Unfortunately, the holiday season marks an opportune time for scammers to capitalize on people's generosity," officials from the communications company stated.
On average, a scammer was able to get more than $400 out of a victim during successful calls.
The best advice from the experts is that if you would like to donate to a cause, go to their website or call the charity yourself.
A common tactic scammers are using to manipulate people into answering phone calls is called "spoofing," according to First Orion. They use a familiar area code which tricks people into recognizing the number and answering.
Eighty percent of people said that if a phone carrier could come up with a solution, they would switch to that carrier immediately.