It's Not Just You: Robocalls And Scams Are On The Rise

New cell phone apps and age-old common sense can protect you.

- Megan Leonhardt

IF YOU THINK YOU’VE BEEN getting more calls from strangers asking for money, you’re not imagining it.

About 95% of people say they’ve gotten a call from a telemarketer in the past six months, according to a survey of over 1,000 Americans by telecom service company First Orion—up from 84% in 2015.

While some unwanted calls may be from legitimate companies, there’s also been a 13% surge in phone scams, with 69% of respondents saying they’ve gotten at least one scam call over the past six months. And one in eight people reports receiving over 20 scam calls in that same period— a whopping four times the number of people who reported that volume of scam calls in 2015, First Orion found.

Regular sales calls are annoying, but the scammers are downright dangerous. When it comes to parting you from your money or your personal information, these scammers are inventive. Fraudsters posing as IRS agents have netted $54 million since October 2013, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The Federal Trade Commission also warns about callers posing as debt collectors, employment agencies, or sweepstakes companies. Recently, the FTC even posted information about callers claiming to be with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, demanding “fees” for routine services.