The Importance of Telemarketing Fraud Statistics

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he’d never have imagined his invention serving anything but its intended purpose: communication. These days, it’s not only irritating to receive call after call from telemarketers; it’s also risky. This article will provide you with detailed and up to date telemarketing fraud statistics, so you can prevent yourself from being scammed out of your hard earned money over the phone.

Why is it important to examine data about telemarketing fraud? The answer is simple. Verifiable facts and figures help establish telemarketing fraud as a legitimate threat. It’s only when we feel threatened that we sit up and proactively go about guarding ourselves against the dangers of such fraud.

Money is a precious thing, and your money is indeed precious to perpetrators of telemarketing fraud. That is why you need to be aware of telemarketing fraud statistics of the last few years. Once you are convinced that you too might stand to lose from telemarketing fraud, you will probably want to take steps to ensure that you don’t become a target, or if you are targeted, you don’t become a victim. In order to be able to do this, you should read up about telemarketing fraud cases and look up tips on the internet that will guide you about how to avoid telemarketing crime.

Go through the information provided here carefully, and familiarize yourself with any emerging patterns of telemarketing fraud. Here’s a look at some recent telemarketing fraud statistics:

• In the year 2005, 59% of initial contact made by con-artists was over the phone, as opposed to the other methods of contact like the print or the mail. Judging by the subsequent years’ stats, telephonic contact remains the preferred method of con-artists for interacting with potential victims.
• In 2007, as compared with 2005, the average percentage of losses incurred by customers who fell victims to the top ten most common scams was higher. For instance, in 2005, the average loss through sweepstakes scams was $4990, which rose to $6601 in 2007. This indicates a rising trend in telemarketing fraud in the United States, as well as a tendency on the part of perpetrators to continue using similar methods.
• It is interesting to note that telemarketing scams such as fake-scholarships show a downward trend in terms of the percentage of complaints recorded; yet the average loss suffered by consumers is up from $366 in 2005, to $532.28 in 2007.
• It should be noted that telemarketing fraud perpetrators are increasingly resorting to online payment methods to transfer money from their victims to their own accounts, but the scams in themselves aren’t internet-related. A major increase has been seen in fake-check scams, amounting to 58% of complaints registered and resulting in an average loss of $3854.78.

Telemarketing fraud statistics help you to better assess the kind of threat you face from telemarketing scams, and it is advisable to keep monitoring these numbers on a regular basis. Keep in mind that an informed customer is a safer customer.