Robocallers Tried to Scam Nearly Half of Older Adults Out of Money in 2019

A Transaction Networks Services (TNS) survey found that 53 percent of U.S. senior citizens think robocallers tried to swindle them out of personal information last year, and 47 percent said they were targeted by financial scams in 2019, reports Business Wire . Eighty-nine percent of polled seniors receive at least one robocall weekly, while 56 percent receive at least seven. Moreover, although only 7 percent of seniors said they have lost money or provided personal information to a scammer, 40 percent said they knew someone who lost money from, or provided personal information to, such scams. Meanwhile, 56 percent of male seniors thought a robocaller attempted to scam them out of money in 2019, compared to 40 percent of female seniors. Further, 59 percent of male seniors believed a robocaller tried to scam them out of personal information last year, versus 48 percent of women. According to 83 percent of senior respondents, they would alert law enforcement and other relevant parties if they fell victim to a robocall scam, while just 4 percent said they would be too embarrassed to disclose this to anyone. Other trends include seniors receiving little assistance or notification from healthcare providers on robocall scams; most seniors not aware if their carrier offers a robocall protection app; opportunity and winner/qualification scams the popular robocall scams targeting seniors; and the frequent use of neighbor spoofing by scammers.