Whether you are an avid news reader or not, you would have heard about a recent telemarketing lead scam that defrauded United States residents, primarily targeting senior citizens. The suspects, when caught, admitted to participating in the wide-range telemarketing number fraud schemes that swindled millions of dollars from innocent seniors.
As part of the fraud scheme, the company had pop-up advertisements appear on computer users’ screens. The ads falsely asserted that malware had infected the user’s software and urged that a telephone number be called for assistance.
So, when the seniors called the supposed operators, they reiterated the lie and offered fictitious computer software protection services for exorbitant prices. Those who fell prey to this telemarketing scam lost $484 on average and sometimes over $1000.
Evelyn, a 60-year-old citizen, was at home when she received an unsolicited call. The person on the other end claimed they were from Microsoft and that her computer had been under attack. When interviewed under a pseudonym, Evelyn revealed that she had given remote access to her laptop to the caller.
Evelyn was skeptical but fell to the trickster’s technical flamboyancy. She paid him %150 because the problem was supposedly challenging to resolve. However, when the scammer asked her to pay another $500, she realized she was conned.
As a leader in telemarketing list providers for over decades, we know the fundamentals of telemarketing campaigns and how fraudsters can use these to trick you.
Expert telemarketers at Senior Source List say scammers target seniors aged 60 and over more frequently than others. A recent study showed that 49% of telemarketing list scams involve medical care and 46% involve investment schemes.
This adds up to genuine telemarketing number list providers becoming easy victims of scrutiny. But that is not always the case. A real team of phone numbers leads providers to follow strict protocols and approaches that the general audience is usually unaware of. Perhaps this is the gap that fraudsters use as a loophole to penetrate the ecosystem.
But not anymore, Today, Senior Source List experts bring you four ways that seniors can use to protect themselves against telemarketing scams:
A core component of building a responsive senior com phone number list involves laying great emphasis on our customer demographics. Meaning, we know where our lead phone number carriers are located, their time horizons, age, habits, purchasing patterns. So, when a so-called telemarketer calls any senior at odd hours, that is a red flag. You can be sure that big brands know when to call.
While seniors generally are common victims under the scammers' radar because they are considered to be a group that severely lacks technical information. This factor makes the senior cohort vulnerable-especially for cyber criminals. According to Forbes “Nofziger cited health issues and medication changes as two factors that can affect cognitive and emotional; states of seniors.” Another factor is dementia.
All these diseases affect individuals and families impacting their ability to create a plan to guard against frauds. But what seniors can do here is that they can assign financial power of attorney to their trusted family members. This will alleviate the transfer of transactions to supposed telemarketing number callers.
Seniors should avoid giving away any type of personal information or banking information. Remember that “a genuine telemarketing lead builder requires just your email id, phone number, name. They WILL NEVER ASK FOR BANKING INFORMATION.”
In our years of service as a telemarketing number list provider, we know that no business will ask for credit card details of a senior unless they are willing to buy a product or service voluntarily.
So, even if someone claims that your account or software has been hacked, make sure to ask them the following questions:
These are just a few questions that will alert the scammer that you are not an easy target.
Business involved in cold calling put special emphasis on:
A part of telemarketing business usually relies on hiring a qualified team of communicators who know the pain points of consumers because “communication matters to brands”. As a result, they are well-equipped to answer all consumer queries briefly. They usually have a script as a guide and set up the basis for the product.
However, when scammers call you, they assert more emphasis on asking you for information related to your life. For example, the majority of the communication in a scam involves the usage of phrases like “please confirm your details”, and try to get your details rather than inform about the service. That is another red flag.
To conclude, we believe the above ways will help you understand how telemarketing lists are created and how scammers use catchy phrases to lure seniors into giving them personal information with a goal to set money. However, there are ways seniors can protect themselves if they understand how the so called phone lead telemarketer works their way to trick seniors.
If you have encountered such an incident, comment in the section below to spread awareness among fellow seniors. We will keep updating our information.
