Americans Lost Almost $30 Billion To Phone Scams Over Past Year

Americans lost a record $29.8 billion over the past year, according to a new report. This is almost three times the estimated loss in 2019.

This research published by Truecaller found that one in three Americans fall victim to phone scams. This means nearly 59.49 million Americans have lost money from calls pretending to be the IRS or from a company inquiring about an expiring vehicle warranty.

Total Americans That Lost Money To Scam Calls — 59.4 million Americans have fallen victim to a phone scam in the past 12 months Truecaller

The results show that the amount of money lost by each victim also rose. The average victim loss was $502, a stark increase compared to the $351 average the year before.

Average Money Lost to Scam Calls — The average reported loss to scam calls has increased 43% in the past 12 months. Truecaller

Among those who have been victims of a phone scam, 59.4% were men and 38.3% were women. The remaining 2.3% identify as non-binary or preferred not to reveal their gender.

The Federal Communications Commission has warned consumers about increased scams during the pandemic and advises not to respond to calls or texts from unknown numbers.

Coronavirus