Do You Know Who’s Calling Mom & Dad? Scammers Target Seniors with 4x as Many Landline Calls – joinimp.com Study Shows

Seniors, including those afflicted with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, receive FOUR times as many unwanted telephone calls as the average landline user.

ETNA, N.H., April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Have you ever thought that bad guys seem to target the older, more vulnerable population with the scams? It turns out you were right.

In their latest landline study, joinimp.com reveals that Americans aged 65+ receive almost 200 unwanted landline calls every week. That’s more than 28 calls a day from bad actors trying to defraud and steal.

The average landline receives roughly 50 unwanted calls a week. 50 is unacceptable.   But 200 is unconscionable. Somehow, or some way, the bad guys have figured out who is vulnerable, and then shamelessly assault them over the landline. Almost $5 billion dollars was stolen, largely from seniors, through landline phone fraud last year.

Additional Data from imp’s Landline Study on Seniors:

• Seniors receive twice as many WANTED calls as the typical landline owner.  Seniors receive, on average, 14 wanted calls a week, while a typical landline only gets 6 or 7 wanted calls each week.  While the bad guys call a lot, so do the good guys. Older Americans are cared for and loved by family members and caregivers, and the landline continues to be an essential tool for communications.
  
  
• Call blocking only stops 5% of the UNWANTED calls to seniors and to the general population. Despite the huge number of calls to seniors, traditional call blocking still only stops 5% of the calls. For the bad guys, manipulating their fake Caller ID information is just “best practices.”
  
  
• Bad guys calling seniors hide their Caller ID information more frequently than when they call a typical landline. For the average landline, 6.5% of the calls do not have Caller ID information. For a senior’s landline, 9.5% of the calls do not have Caller ID information. The bottom line: do not answer a call that does not have Caller ID information.

Targeting Seniors Suffering from Cognitive Decline

Six million older Americans suffer from cognitive decline, including Alzheimers and Dementia. They are cared for by eleven million caregivers who work every day to help these seniors lead productive and engaged lives.

The landline poses a unique challenge to aging Americans and their caregivers. On one hand, the phone helps maintain connections to family, friends, and the community. The phone is a symbol of independence, and the long-time home phone number is tied to a sense of place almost as much as a physical address. Quality and reliability are excellent. And friends and family call a lot.

But on the other hand, the bad guys home in on who is vulnerable. And shamelessly exploit that weakness. 

About imp^TM

Founded in 2019 in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, imp’s mission is to rid the world from the scourge of the unwanted caller. imp’s smart landline call blocking technology is powered by Greenlist Technology, creating America’s most robust smart landline network capable of stopping 100% of unwanted calls. For more information, visit joinimp.com.

Contact:
George Lightbody
800-374-0056
[email protected]

SOURCE imp – smart landline call-filtering