Scammers used text messages to steal more money than ever before in 2023, according to Robokiller, an app that blocks spam calls and texts.
Last year, an estimated $33 billion flowed into the coffers of criminals thanks to robotext scams. That was a 59% increase over the previous year.
In all, Americans received an estimated 160 billion robotexts last year. One type of robotext scam was used far more often than any other, however.
The top robotext scams in 2023 were:
- Delivery scams: An estimated 14.5 billion such robotexts were sent
- Bank scams: 4.4 billion texts
- Travel scams: 2.2 billion texts
- Apple and hardware scams: 1.9 billion texts
So the next time you receive a text message about a package, remember there’s a good chance it’s a scam.
Meanwhile, robocalls were less common than robotexts in 2023, with Americans receiving an estimated 59 billion robocalls. These calls were used to bilk Americans of another $69 billion.
On the bright side, a government crackdown on robocalls paid off in a significant decline in car warranty, student loan and mortgage robocalls.
Unfortunately, robocall scammers are now moving into new areas ripe for their nefarious activities, including health insurance, debt collection and financial services.
The most common robocall scams in 2023 were:
- Health insurance scams: An estimated 1.2 billion such robocalls were made
- Medical scams: 990 million
- Debt collector scams: 895 million
- Financial service scams: 883 million
- Pharmacy scams: 781 million
Overall, the number of both robotexts and robocalls fell last year. Robotexts slid 28% and robocalls dipped by 23% compared with 2022.
Yet, despite this decrease, scammers are “getting more bang for their buck” using robotexts than in the past, according to Robokiller. As it explained in its latest scam report:
“Scammers know that the most effective way to reach consumers is through SMS, considering 86% of the population owns a smartphone and 95% of messages on those smartphones are read. They’re just getting more convincing with what they send and focusing their energy on tactics that work such as bank scams, delivery scams, and crypto scams.”
If robotexts or robocalls are testing your last strand of sanity, fight back. There are steps you can take to reduce the toll of this scourge. For more, check out:
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