Robocall Scams

How Common are Robocall scams? According to the YouMail Robocall Index, which measures robocalls placed and received nationwide, 43.3 billion robocalls were placed during the first 10 months of 2019, with an average of 131.9 calls received per person. This reflects over 10 billion more calls than were logged in the previous year.

Nuisance vs. High-Risk Calls

Nuisance calls are not considered malicious and are often based on non-compliance, while high-risk calls center on fraudulent activity, such as scams delivered to collect money or personal details.

Nuisance calls increased by 38 percent over the last year, while high-risk calls rose by 28 percent in the same timeframe. This continuing malicious robocall activity demonstrates the need for constant user awareness, as criminals are becoming more clever with their scamming techniques.

Scammers Use Real Data

Another threat to data privacy from robocalls is the growing trend of scammers using genuine data to make their calls seem realistic. A tactic called enterprise spoofing involves scammers using actual data to impersonate real businesses in order to convince victims to give up personal or business details and money. 75 percent of victims reported scam callers had accurate information about them and used those tidbits to put the squeeze on them.

Robocalls Collect Private Info

A startling statistic from the Clutch survey revealed 21 percent of people gave information to a robocaller. Various factors may compel people to do so, including subjects related to health, debt relief, and other personal and financial related topics.

Scammers of all types focus on urgency. They convince people that if they don’t act quickly, they will face dire consequences. When a victim hears something specifically about them or the company they work for, they may offer private details without taking the time to question the legitimacy of the caller. Also, a phone call requires in-the-moment communication, and many people instinctually respond politely to avoid conflict.

What’s the Cost to You and Your Business?

In addition to wasting time and negatively impacting the productivity of your employees, the result of just one mistake sharing personal or business information could prove to be quite impactful. Proprietary personal or business information such as the names of customers, bank account numbers, and even other data could be quite costly from both a financial and reputation perspective.

Your Initial Instincts May Be Wrong

Most business owners take the first step and block the number, but this doesn’t resolve the issue as the scammer will simply generate a new non-blocked one. After repeat attacks, you may be tempted to call the number back to confront the caller, but this puts you and your business at even more risk. Returning a call

signals to robocallers that your phone number is “live”, which triggers a multitude of additional calls. The bottom line is that any time spent on the phone with a scammer is a risk, as a single call could potentially lead to a breach in your organization.

How to Fight Back

At BrevAll, we train our customers to be knowledgeable about robocalls. We educate them on the dangers of interacting with any unverified call, and provide practical ways in which to combat them. If you’re ready to take action and better secure your business from the dangers of robocalls, contact BrevAll today.

Read more on Robocall Best Practices here.

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