The Number of People Who Fall Prey to Phone Scams Has Drastically Increased

Scam phone calls are not something new, and probably every third person has fallen victim to them. Even though most people are aware of these frauds, some individuals, especially those who are 50 or older, are quite prone to having their money stolen. The telecom industry, as well as different companies, take these statistics quite seriously.

In the following lines, we will talk about the most common types of phone fraud, and we will also mention some of the initiations implemented by different providers in an attempt to minimise such attacks. We’ve also taken a look at the Fraud Barometer by KPMG, so we’ll share details regarding the increase of fraud cases in the last year.

A Fraud Report Shows a 30% Increase of Losses due to Frauds

Although many people kind of neglect the negative effects a scam phone call may have on one’s budget, the truth is that, unfortunately, a great deal of individuals have suffered the consequences of such frauds. According to the UK Finance’s fraud report regarding the first half of 2021, fraud losses increased by 30%.

The report shows that more than £750 million has been stolen due to fraud. At the beginning of this article, we have mentioned that older people are more likely to become victims of such strikes. The reason being is that they are not quite familiar with the essence of such scams. However, the truth is that children are quite vulnerable, as well.

As stated in the Finance Report, individuals between the age of 12 and 14 were the most targeted ones. The fact that teenagers use social media on a daily basis makes it even easier for scammers to deceive them. The most common way for criminals to hide the stolen money is via the usage of a decentralised wallet due to the fact that all funds are stored on the blockchain. The cities where most people have been affected are:

• London
• Birmingham
• Preston
• Manchester
• Liverpool

How Much Money Did People Lose?

Approximately £350 million was lost due to APP fraud, which is an abbreviation of Authorised Push Payment. It is one of the most common types of fraud. That is when a scammer sends a message, email, or contacts the victim on the phone. He would say that he is a service provider representative and would tell the victim that they have an unpaid bill that must be paid immediately. They would often threaten the person with potential consequences.

In addition, a huge number of individuals fell prey to social media advertisements. That resulted in a total of £107 million in losses due to fraud. Most commonly, such ads promise fast growth of income if the user makes a deposit. The word that scammers would use will be an investment so that their proposal sounds more legitimate.

Of course, online shopping scams affected many UK residents, as well. Unfortunately, most people don’t do the necessary research when purchasing online. Whenever they see an alluring item, they are quick to make a deposit and wait for the arrival of their next pair of shoes or a cooking gadget. Nonetheless, the waiting period sometimes takes forever.

The Fraud Barometer 2022

The Fraud Barometer is a report prepared and presented by KPMG. It provides a complete analysis of the fraud cases in the UK for the last year. This report is delivered annually, and it provides information about the latest scam trends that have a negative impact on the UK economy. According to the statement, the fraud cases in the United Kingdom have increased drastically.

Although the Fraud Barometer is not a report that is focused on phone calls, it still shows how many residents of the UK have been affected. Considering the scam phone calls many people have become victims of, we can only imagine how gigantic the overall sum of fraud losses is.

How Are Companies Trying to Minimize Fraud Cases

As aforesaid, the telecom industry is trying to minimise fraud instances as much as possible. Additionally, other companies are doing their best to come up with effective solutions to this serious issue. After all, if a scammer pretends to be an agent from a prestigious company the potential victim is a customer of, this could seriously harm the company’s reputation.

That’s why most companies invest in immensely effective anti-virus software and strong firewalls. Cybersecurity is vital, considering that online scams are prevailing. Pay.UK, for example, has worked on creating a system that will allow clients to make easier and safer payments with different organisations without any risks.

Mastercard, on the other hand, has introduced the Request to Pay feature. It provides users with more flexibility when making payments, and it allows for a biller to establish a connection with the customer. In other words, billers can request payments directly via Mastercard. That will certainly minimise the cases of people who get scammed by phone calls or messages about unpaid bills.

The good thing about this newly released Request to Pay function is that it can be integrated into an app on a trusted device, such as a person’s bank app, for example. This way, they will receive weekly or monthly notifications about the bills that should be paid. The customer will also be able to contact the biller in case they have any further questions regarding the payment.