Despite technological advances, when it comes to communication, many people continue to prefer voice as their most reliable means of contact. However, phone calls have become the point of attack for cybercriminals.
In this context, learning to manage and evaluate suspicious phone calls has become an urgent need to protect yourself in an increasingly digitalized environment.
“Scammers have learned to exploit our tendency to believe what we hear and respond immediately. Whether through manipulative phone calls or sophisticated automated systems, these criminals take advantage of our vulnerability and apply social engineering techniques that are difficult to detect at the time,” says Josep Albors, director of Research and Awareness at ESET Spain.
The Risk of Spam Calls
Recent research indicates that toll fraud and spam reached record levels globally last year. About 28% of unknown calls were fraud or spam in 2023, and 16% of consumers lost money to this type of scam. In addition, victims also waste time, spending an average of nine minutes a week – almost eight hours a year – filtering annoying calls.
Therefore, labels such as “probable scam”, “suspected fraud” or “potential spam” in incoming calls are key tools to alert users about possible scams. These warnings, issued by telephone operators, are based on network analysis and user reports that detect suspicious patterns, such as multiple calls to numbers registered on “do not call” lists or the use of technologies such as VoIP.
In 2023, 28% of unknown calls globally were identified as spam or scam attempts
“Even if you are on a “do not call” list or similar, scammers have multiple ways to obtain your phone number. They can collect it from public social media accounts, access it through third-party data breaches, trick you into providing it via phishing emails, or acquire it through middlemen who sell consumer information. Additionally, many use automated software that generates random numbers within a range of area codes, thus expanding their reach to contact potential victims,” warns Albors.
Top Telephone Scams
According to ESET, phone scams encompass a wide range of tactics designed to trick people into obtaining confidential information or money. Among the most common are phishing scams, known as vishing, in which scammers impersonate legitimate entities such as government agencies, banks or service companies.
These calls often include threats of nonexistent debts or requests to transfer money to “safe” accounts. Remote access scams also stand out, where a fake technician requests access to a computer to supposedly solve a non-existent problem, only to search for confidential data or install malware to continue having access to the device.
There are also other common practices, including investment phone scams, where false profits are promised on fraudulent financial opportunities, and sweepstakes scams, where payment or personal information is demanded to claim non-existent prizes. In addition, telemarketing calls, or automated ones, known as ‘robocalls’, which, although sometimes legal, are also a common method of carrying out large-scale scams, exploiting their low cost and massive reach.
How to Protect Yourself
The easiest way to protect yourself from scam calls is to pay attention to your carrier’s warning notices and be wary of unknown numbers. However, it can be a tedious task to filter out large volumes of potential spam or scam calls, so the company recommends:
- Sign up for “do not call” lists (or similar): Many countries have such national registries (such as the Robinson List in Spain), designed to prevent most legitimate telemarketers from calling.
- Block known spam numbers: Either manually from call history on iOS or Android devices, or through mobile security filters, you can help minimize interruptions. You can also set up a call filter in the mobile security solution of your choice.
- Contact data brokers: In more advanced cases, contacting data brokers directly to exclude their information from public access can be another effective preventive measure.
- Maintain a vigilant attitude: It is essential to avoid sharing personal or financial information over the phone and not allow remote downloads to your computer.
