Financial Loss to Hispanics in the U.S. is the Highest Ever Recorded in Eight Years of Researching Scam and Spam Calls by Truecaller

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Truecaller, the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication, announced today the results of its eighth annual Insights U.S. Spam & Scam Report. The research conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll shows that Latinos in the U.S. are seeing financial loss due to spam and scam calls at a disproportionately higher rate than the general population. In the past 12 months, 35% of U.S. Hispanics report having lost money because of phone scams compared to 26% of the general population. 

U.S. Hispanics will more often depend on international phone calls from family members living in foreign countries and therefore are more prone to caller-ID confusion when trying to decipher the legitimacy of incoming, unrecognized phone calls. U.S. Hispanics are 7% less likely to ignore an unknown phone number compared to the general population. Similarly, only 59% of Hispanics say they will delete a text from an unknown phone number compared to 62% of the general population. The research shows Hispanics are more likely to engage with unidentified callers and texters, therefore increasing their chances of interacting with scammers. Hispanics are also 38% less likely to register for protective measures against spam calls compared to the general population. 

Scam calls can be an enormous disrupter to daily life. In 2021, 35% of Hispanics took the inconvenient step of canceling their credit cards after being scammed. Data shows that Hispanics fall victim to and suffer financial impact from phone scams at a higher rate than the general population. Truecaller’s insights study showed that in 2021, Hispanics lost money at a rate of 35% higher compared to the general population as well as fell victim to general phone scams at a rate of 39% higher. Despite Hispanics’ increased rate of falling victim and suffering financial loss, they received 35% less spam calls than the general population, signaling the disproportionate rate at which Latinos are falling victim. 

“Hispanics living in the U.S. need more protection and insulation from spam calls compared to the general population,” says Clayton LiaBraaten, senior strategist advisor for Truecaller. “These scammers have evolved to become very sophisticated social engineers and continue to find innovative ways to target victims. Immigration and IRS scams are topics of choice when targeting U.S. Hispanics because they resonate highly with the population.”

Of those Latinos who lost money to phone scams in the past 12 months, Robocallers accounted for 74% of those scams among Hispanics, compared to 61% in the general U.S. population. 

Most common Robocalls for Hispanics include:

• Vehicle Warranties (45%)
• Money-owed for tax or legal fines (40%)
• Offers to switch or bundle mobile/cable/satellite TV (33%)
• IRS (32%)
• Lotteries / Sweepstakes (32%)
• Medicare (31%)
• Social security number has been suspended (29%)
• Investing in crypto currencies (17%)
• Other (10%)

For more information, visit truecaller.com or download the app through Google Play® for Android® devices and through Apple’s® App Store® for iOS devices.

The phone scam survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Truecaller from March 22-24, 2022, 2,065 adults aged 18 and older participated. The phone spam survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Truecaller from March 24-28, 2022, among 3,075 adults ages 18 and older participated. For more details, please refer to the full report on Truecaller’s official blog.

People use Truecaller to stay ahead. It helps them know who’s getting in touch, filter out unwanted calls and SMS, and focus on what really matters. The company provides a suite of unique services such as a dialer that offers caller ID, spam detection, messaging and more. Truecaller’s mission is to build trust everywhere by making communication safe and efficient. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the company was founded in 2009 by Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Atomico and Kleiner Perkins.

The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963 that is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm. We strive to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. We work with clients in three primary areas; building a twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible. Learn more at www.theharrispoll.com.

Contact:

Ana Gomez
UMG Media
[email protected]

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SOURCE Truecaller