More than 56 million U.S. Adults – 21 Percent of Americans – Fleeced Out of $25.4 Billion in Telephone Scams in 2023, per Truecaller’s latest edition of the U.S. Spam and Scam Report

• Younger adults most at risk: three times more likely to be scammed vs. older adults; Latino and Black Americans two times more likely as White Americans to be victimized

• Fraudsters leveraging AI to create sophisticated approaches as they engage in ‘AI arms race’ with anti-scam and spam apps

American adults lost more than $25.4 billion in 2023 to telephone-based scams, with 21% – more than 56.2 million people – admitting they were victimized, according to a report released today by Truecaller, the world’s leading caller ID and spam blocking app.

One of the survey’s more surprising results was that young adults (ages 18-44 yrs) are three times more likely than older adults (45+ yrs) to have lost money because of a phone scam last year, with 33% falling prey to at least one scam.

“This year’s findings indicate that despite all the warnings and information available, telephone fraud continues to be a major concern. The recent deepfake phone call featuring President Biden’s voice is the latest high-profile example of the types of threats facing the everyday person,” said Clayton LiaBraaten, Senior Executive Advisor and Industry Spokesperson at Truecaller. “Those committing fraud will be able to use new technologies and social engineering to personalize their attempts in ways we haven’t seen before.”

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“Those committing fraud will be able to use new technologies and social engineering to personalize their attempts in ways we haven’t seen before.”

The 2024 Truecaller U.S. Spam & Scam Report was conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll. More than 2,000 U.S. adults were surveyed in January 2024 regarding scam, and more than 2,000 U.S. adults were surveyed regarding spam.

“The research indicates a decrease in successful phone scams since the survey was last conducted in 2022, which is likely the result of widespread use of technology on current scamming methods,” said LiaBraaten. “People need to be more vigilant than ever, however, as generative AI could be a game-changer, leading to more sophisticated scams, such as the Biden fake robocall incident in January.”

Truecaller’s previous report in 2022 indicated that 26% of Americans lost $39.5 billion in telephone-related fraud. Previous reports can be accessed on the Truecaller blog here.

The complete 2024 report can be found at this LINK.

Some Key Findings:

• 1 in 5 Americans (21%) lost money from phone scams in 2023, with fraud victims losing $452 on average
• Men are more likely than women (25% to 18%) to have lost money as the result of a phone scam in 2023 (25% vs. 18%)
• 1 in 3 younger adults (ages 18-44 yrs) lost money through phone scams, which is three times greater than older adults (45+ yrs)
• Hispanic and Black Americans were more than twice as likely than White Americans to say they lost money as the result of a phone scam in 2023 (30% and 39%, respectively, vs. 15%)

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