Hispanics in the United States are the ones who suffer the most damage from phone scams, a figure higher than the rest of the population, according to a study released this Monday by the firm Truecaller.
The survey, in collaboration with The Harris Poll, indicates that of the 22% of Hispanics living in US territory, 32% of them reported losing money to phone scams, compared to 26% of the general population in the last 12 months.
“Hispanics living in the United States need more protection against spam calls compared to the general population,” said Clayton LiaBraaten, Strategic Advisor at Truecaller.
The company specified that Hispanics frequently resort to phone calls international with relatives living in other countries, and are “more likely to mistake caller ID when trying to decipher the legitimacy of unrecognized incoming phone calls.”
According to the survey, Hispanics are only 7% less likely to ignore a number unknown phone numbers compared to the general population. Likewise, only 59% of Hispanics say they will delete a text message from an unknown number, compared to 59% of the general population.
Hispanics are more likely to engage with unidentified calls and text messages, increasing their chances of engaging with scammers. Similarly, they are 38% less likely to sign up for programs or apps that help protect against unwanted calls.
The most common robocalls, or robocalls, received by Hispanics are related to auto warranties, which represents a 45%, money owed for taxes or legal fines in a 40%, offers to change television services for cable or satellite in a 33%.
In addition, they frequently receive calls about alleged irregularities with their taxes, in a 32%, lottery or draw results in 32%, Medicare benefits at 31%, Social Security number suspension notices at 29%, or investments in cryptocurrencies in 17%.
“These scammers have evolved to become social engineers. very sophisticated agents and continue to find more innovative ways to attack victims,” LiaBraaten said. “Immigration and Internal Revenue Service scams are hot topics when it comes to Hispanics in the United States because they resonate so much with the population.”
The survey carried out by the firm The Harris Poll, with the endorsement of Truecaller, was carried out between 22 and of March between 2, 065 adults older than 18 years.
With information from EFE