
While most people have their eyes on their laptop or desktop computer when it comes to cons and hackers, the days of phone scams are far from over. Whether you remember having a rotary phone in your home or you grew up in the era of mobile devices, everyone should be aware of those common ploys.
These scams can lead to personal information getting leaked. Scammers have been known to extort, blackmail, and intimidate their victims.
The best way to avoid scammers is to know their common tricks to get sensitive details on people and ignore them entirely. In the following few sections, we will look at ten of the most common phone scams in 2024 and ways to prevent them in the future.
Different Types of Phone Scams
Phone scams come in many different shapes and sizes. They could range from a few bored kids wasting a few minutes of your time to elaborate long cons that require the scammer to plan out the process. This article will focus exclusively on the more severe scams that could leave people financially ruined or socially humiliated.
Cramming Scam
Cramming is a clever trick that sweeps a few pennies off thousands of tables. The intelligence of cramming is in how hard it is to notice. Cramming is when someone tacks up fees onto another’s phone bill without their consent. Typically, the victim will only notice a small bill increase, so they won’t think anything of it.
The downside is that this same amount of money (if not more) will continue on the bill month by month. Contact your service provider if you have any unwanted purchases or unexplainable fees on your phone bill.
Quick Call Scam
If you are someone who feels a surge of anxiety rush over you as the phone rings from the other room, you may be susceptible to the quick call scam. The quick call scam depends on a person’s fear of missing an important call, particularly those expecting a callback from a potential employer or local company.
The scammer rings the phone once, maybe twice, and then hangs up. They wait for the person to panic and quickly redial, which usually results in the person being put on a list of “numbers that will call back.” Similarly, they could make you call a number that runs an expensive ‘by-the-minute’ fee that could run up an extensive phone bill.
Voicemail Scam
Scammers do not always mindlessly type in numbers and hope for a positive result. Some spend hours combing through job boards and online directories to find the most vulnerable targets. So when a scammer who has done enough research to sound believable sends you a voicemail, it can be easy to get fooled and call them back.
If you are curious about a mystery caller, check out our guide on how to find out who a number is registered to!
The goal of these scams is only to get you to call back, though if they can get personal information from you while they are at it, all the better. Be very careful about responding to unknown numbers and ensure that the person on the voicemail is a verifiable representative of the company they claim to be.
Spoofing Scam
Spoofing may be one of the most concerning scams in 2024, as it can perfectly impersonate local numbers to nearby neighbors and businesses. So, even though your caller ID assures you the number is from a local area code, spoofing has made cautious folks double-check.
Spoofing can involve several scams and rely on the victim’s belief that the call comes from a local person or business. If you are unsure of the origin of a number, send it through a trusted reverse phone lookup like the one we offer. While it may not reveal the spoofed number, it will show who they are impersonating.
Employment Scam
If you are someone who works in a client-based industry that requires you to make cold calls and submit your resume to local job boards, you will need to be wary of employment scams. These scams will start at job boards where the scammer will reach out to a prospective applicant about a potential job opening.
Once the victim agrees to an interview, they will answer a few questions that are only for the explicit purpose of making the job seem real. Once the victim “gets the job,” the scammer will try to send them a check to cash so the victim can buy job supplies. Once the victim cashes the check, the scammer will request some of the funds back.
The check will then bounce, you will be out hundreds to thousands of dollars, and the job and employer will disappear from your life. If an employer is ever asking you to cash a check and send them money back, it is likely a scam. Similarly, always check a company name to see if they have had complaints in the past or belong to a fraudulent company.
Impersonation Scam
The impersonation scam has likely happened to just about everyone, though most people aren’t even aware of it. If you look through old spam messages (without clicking or responding to them), you will notice many suspicious texts informing you that you have an outstanding bill, a tax return, or a payment that has been refunded.
If you get texts or calls from a government agency like the IRS or even a bank, you are being scammed. The Internal Revenue Service will not text people about tax returns, and Amazon, your bank, or eBay will not try to get you to enter personal information over the phone. This does not mean scammers won’t call, pretending to be all of the above ad nauseam.
Endangered Loved One Scam
No one wants to get the call that their son, nephew, or granddaughter has been injured, abducted, or otherwise put in harm’s way. Scammers know this and also know that in the modern world, people cannot always check on family members immediately. This scam can range from fake calls from foreign prisons to elaborate kidnapping dramas.
Luckily, if someone attempts to pull this scam, you can find their name attached to the number.
The hardest part of this scam is that it is tough to maintain your composure when you think your family members may be in danger. See if the “kidnapper” wants to keep you on the line or is cryptic and quick to disconnect. A kidnapper will not want an extended conversation, and a scammer will not want you to disconnect and check with your relative.
Computer Repair Scam
Computer repair scams commonly target older people and those unfamiliar with newer tech. The scammer will claim to be with a computer repair company or even claim to be a representative of Microsoft or Apple. They will state that your computer has a virus or ask if it is moving slower than usual.
Depending on the scammer, some may already know about potential malware plaguing your computer. Regardless, you should never allow someone access to your computer over the phone, and companies will never monitor computers randomly to see if they have a virus.
Elderly Scam
Most scammers regularly focus on the older members of our population. Older adults are at a greater risk of being ripped off by scammers than any other age demographic. Cellular con men have created elaborate scenarios based on the technological ignorance of older people.
If you are over sixty and receive suspicious calls regularly or people impersonating your grandchildren, it may be time to get a new line, as you may already be on a scammers’ list.
Big Winner Scam
The big winner scam is one of the oldest and most obvious scams in the book, but it still regularly tricks people. The idea is that you have won an unimaginable amount of money or an expensive new possession. To claim it, you must enter your address, social security number, and bank information.
Unfortunately, these prizes never materialize, and the few who enter their information are usually poorer and more exposed than they wish. If you are informed that you won something but haven’t entered any contests, block the number and move on.
Quick Wrap-up on Phone Scams
Phone scams will continue to exist as long as people continue to fall for them. Some scammers get caught, but others regularly earn six to seven-digit incomes from victims who didn’t know better. To avoid con artists, ensure you are regularly aware of and understand common scamming methods as new technology emerges.