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DON EDWARDS
Company Chaplain, National Counseling Group Scam Calls Are ‘Epidemic’ And…GETTING WORSE!
A TEMPORARY FIX A NEW REPORT SAYS NEARLY
“I know someone who can turn temporary into HALF OF MOBILE CALLS WILL BE
EVERLASTING!” FRAUDULENT BY NEXT YEAR
I remember when I was twenty-one, I had a BMW…my first official ride. Learn more about protecting yourself: Visit AARP’s Scams & Fraud page
You couldn’t tell me nothing! I thought I was riding clean!! I thought I Scam calls are getting more frequent—and quickly. By next year, nearly
was the man!!! Now… to some it may have looked more like a Barely half of all calls to mobile phones will be fraudulent, according to a new
Making it Wagon…LOL, but to me it was my ride. I remember when I report from telecommunications firm First Orion. The company ana-
first got it, I was trying to keep it clean, have it smell good—and I lyzed data from more than 50 billion calls over 18 months to get a snap-
wouldn’t even eat in it. I would have friends in the car and we would shot of what they call the scam-call “epidemic”. Here’s what they found:
roll up to McDonald’s drive through, but I wouldn’t even let them eat in Mobile phone scam calls are increasing: In 2017, only 3.7 percent
my car until we reached our destination (Yep not even a fry!!! Uppity I of calls to cell phones were fraudulent. This year, that number
know!). I would ride with the windows down, no matter if it was summer reached 29.2 percent—and it’s expected to climb to 44.6 percent in
or winter just so the aroma of fries would not leave that smell in my car. 2019.
A few years later, you could probably find extra salt and pepper packets
Fraudulent landline calls are decreasing: Scam calls originating
in my car, I didn’t clean the car as much anymore, and I didn’t care if
from landlines are decreasing. In 2019, only a projected 24.8 percent
anyone ate in my car at all (Can you supersize them fries, please!)!
of scam calls will come from landlines, a decrease from 56 percent
in 2017. This is in part because fewer people use landlines in the first
I also recall as a little boy the excitement of getting new things…espe-
place, but it’s also a sign of just how technologically sophisticated—
cially around the holiday season. The joy of opening presents…the joy
and successful—mobile scammers have become.
of something new. I would play with my new toys for hours (Atari 2600
Beware of the area code: “Neighborhood spoofing” is a tactic in
is now a retro game…Lawd!!!!!!!!!). A few months later those new toys
would be collecting dust under my bed, in the corner of my room, or in which fraudsters show up as a local number on your caller ID by
the box of toys of Christmas past!!! I have observed, through my short matching the first six digits of your number. The report estimates
years on this earth, that life is filled with many moments or things that that 9 in 10 scam calls will come from a familiar area code next year.
give us a temporary fix to the challenges of life. The temporary joy of a The increasing numbers of scam calls mean it’s harder to determine
new car…a relationship, a new business venture…a vacation or finally what calls are legitimate—on either a mobile or landline. “People
reaching that destination or goal you have been longing for. We all have just don’t answer their phones anymore,” says Gavin Macomber, First
moments of temporary joy that can be found in people, things, or places. Orion’s senior vice president of marketing and strategic business devel-
opment. According to Macomber, 84% of unknown mobile calls (and
But I have learned in my walk with God…that HE is the only one that gives
an even higher percentage of landline calls) go unanswered these days.
me consistent joy day after day, year after year without getting old.
This can be a real problem for legitimate businesses trying to reach their
So, what about you? Do you just need a temporary fix? I know customers.
someone who can turn temporary into everlasting! And for consumers who get caught up in a scam, the financial repercus-
Be sure to see National Counseling Group’s ad on Page 5 sions can be serious. The FTC reports that the median loss from a phone-
based scam in 2017 was $720.
Luckily, there are several ways to stay protected…
For smartphone users, apps such as RoboKiller and Truecaller can
help detect and block unwanted calls—but keep in mind that these apps
block calls only from known scam numbers, not “spoofed” calls that tem-
porarily hijack legitimate digits. Some carriers, such as T-Mobile, have
started to offer screening services that alert consumers if an incoming
call is likely fraudulent and other carriers are likely to follow suit. In the
meantime, familiarize yourself with common scams, like calls from peo-
Most People Don’t Protect Their Digital Identities ple claiming to work for the IRS or your credit card company. Ma-
Many Americans fail to take even the most basic steps to protect their comber says he hopes we’ll soon be living in a world in which consumers
digital identity, from monitoring their banking accounts online to can answer their phones again. Until then…JUST HANG UP!!!
varying their passwords to setting up a security freeze on their credit Source: Sarah Elizabeth Adler, AARP
reports, according to a new AARP survey. More adults (57%) are
likely to have online access to all their credit card accounts, but again Digital Identities (PASSWORDS) CONTINUED…
older adults lag behind. About 70% of those age 18 to 49 have set will be able to exploit their credit at some point. But we are emphasiz-
up online credit card access, compared to 52% of adults age 50 to 64 ing that there are powerful things you can do to make sure that stolen
and 37% of adults over age 65. IN ADDITION, even though almost data can’t be used against you.” One area where older adults are more
half (47%) of the adults surveyed say they have spotted bogus char- vigilant than younger adults is the use of PASSWORDS. Security ex-
ges on their credit or debit cards, only 14% have requested a SECU- perts advise using UNIQUE PASSWORDS for each individual ac-
RITY FREEZE on their credit data. A FREEZE RESTRICTS count, but the survey reveals that this is not a typical practice. Partici-
ACCESS TO A CONSUMER’S CREDIT REPORT, MAKING pants also were asked about their use of social media sites and their ex-
IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR CRIMINALS TO OPEN FRADU- periences with knowledge of IDENTITY THEFT.
LENT ACCOUNTS IN HIS OR HER NAME. “Our survey results Older adults are less likely than those age 18 to 49 to log on to other
indicate that a lot of people may feel overwhelmed, and have just gi- accounts via FACEBOOK…
ven up,” says AARP’s lead fraud researcher and the report’s co-au- A POTENTIAL SECURITY RISK! IF A FACEBOOK USER NAME AND PASSWORD
thor, Doug Shadel. IS STOLEN, A SCAMMER CAN EASILY ACCESS OTHER ACCOUNTS. HOWEVER,
“Two-thirds of those surveyed said that given the number of data A MINORITY OF OLDER ADULTS CHANGE FACEBOOK’S DEFAULT PRIVACY SET-
breaches that have occurred, they think it is inevitable that criminals TINGS, LEAVING THEIR INFORMATION MORE EXPOSED.
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