Here’s How Much Phone Scams Cost Americans Last Year…

April 21, 2017

Spam phone calls aren’t just annoying — they’re costing American consumers billions of dollars.

An estimated one in every 10 American adults lost money in a phone scam in the past 12 months, according to a report released Wednesday. On average, each scam victim lost $430, totaling about $9.5 billion overall. That was an increase of 56% from the 2015 survey, when victims on average lost $274 each. “No one is immune, and now more than ever there is a need to be vigilant,” said Tom Hsieh, the vice president of growth and partnerships at TrueCaller, a Stockholm-based company that offers services including caller ID and spam detection...