Find out the statics of how many Americans are being scammed and exactly how these scammers fooled an SC woman into giving them all of her money.
Americans are always falling for phone scams. Maybe it's because Americans are too trusting of random people that call them from unknown numbers. Regardless of who is calling, if you don't know them, don't take their phone calls and certainly don't trust them.
"Nearly 1 in 3 Americans say they've fallen victim to a phone scam in the past year." -2021 U.S. Spam & Scam Report
Scam Statistics from the 2021 U.S. Spam & Scam Report
If you want to see how many Americans are being scammed, these are real statistics obtained from the 2021 U.S. Spam & Scam Report:
- As many as 59.49M Americans (23%) report having lost money as a result of phone scams in the past 12 months — up from 56 million (22%) in 2020.
- 1 in 3 Americans (31%) report having ever fallen victim to phone scams, and 19% on more than one occasion.
- Of those who lost money to phone scams in the past 12 months:
- The money lost to scam calls in the past 12 months equates to an estimated 9.8 billion USD*.
- 59% of Americans have received scam calls and/or SMS in the past year.
- Robocallers duped 60% of these people.
A Phone Scam Shared by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office released information pertaining to this scam from their official Facebook page. It reads:
"The scam started with a phone call at the end of June. The person on the other end claimed to be with Amazon and was inquiring about purchases made. The woman said she hadn't made any purchases. As a result, the person transferred the woman to "CIA Agent William Nelson".
The alleged agent texted the woman a photo of his credentials and proceeded to call and text her. In the communication with the alleged agent, she was told her social security number had been compromised and she was involved in payments to foreign nations.
She was advised to withdraw all of her money so that it could be put into "Federal Protective Custody".
Believing the scam, she first withdrew $30,000 and purchased gift cards as instructed. She then withdrew an additional $100,000 in cash.
The woman was instructed to meet with another alleged CIA agent at a Walmart in Hardeeville to deliver the gift cards and cash, which she did.
Should you believe you've been a victim of a scam, please report it to your local law enforcement agency."
Red Flags in this Scam & Tip to End the Scam
Here are some obvious red flags in this scam:
- Amazon does not call people without you first contacting them and asking for a callback.
- No government agency (including CIA agents) would ever request cash
- It is clearly a scam if you are being asked to go to a local store (such as Walmart) and buy gift cards.
Scammers know that they can steal money easily if they can first gain your trust. They do this by pretending to be on your side.
They want to "protect" you from scammers, but they are secretly scamming you.
Many scammers have the mentality that if you are dumb enough to fall for their scam, then they are entitled to your money. This is how they justify it in their mind. However, it is still theft and wrong.
Tip: If you ever receive a call on your phone from someone claiming to be a representative of a company or a government official, you can always take down their name and identification number and give an excuse to get off the phone with them. Example: I have to go to the bathroom!
Next: Look up the real number of that company or government agency, and ask to speak with a real employee and validate the credentials of the person calling. Don't take any more calls from the scammer's number.
If that person doesn't exist, then you were almost the victim of a scam.
Three General Tips to Avoid Phone Scams
Three general tips to help reduce the number of spam calls you receive.
- Block and report scam calls
- Let unknown calls go to voicemail
- Limit or be cautious when sharing your phone number
Source: CNBC
Sources
Beaufort County Sheriff's Office Facebook page
Leonhardt, Megan. "Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams alone over the past year." CNBC. 29 June 2022.
Morse, Ben. "Hilton Head woman loses $130,000 in scam involving fake CIA agent, sheriff's office says." Yahoo! News. 15 July 2022.
2021 U.S. Spam & Scam Report. Truecaller.
