The end of the year is a time when people often engage keep an eye on societal trends. One characteristic to be aware of about 2018 is that it was a year full of scams.
Here are six of the most eye-opening and worrisome statistics:
1. Spam Comprised More Than Half of Email Traffic in May 2018
Many people using email services don’t realize how much spam they receive, specifically since brands like Gmail filter out apparent junk mail.
But, just because internet users may not see spam as often as they used to doesn’t mean it’s not still widespread. A Q2 analysis of spam for 2018 found that May was the most active month for it ” when the junk mail accounted for 50.65 percent of email traffic.
Plus, May wasn’t even the worst month for spam in 2018. Both January and February showed totals of over 50 percent according to the report.
2. Mobile Phone-Related Scam Calls Saw Approximately a 25-Percent Jump Since 2017
Initially, telephone scammers primarily targeted landlines, but since many people gave up landline numbers in favor of mobile phones criminals had to adapt, too. A report from First Orion analyzed nearly 50 billion mobile phone calls people received across 18 months.
The company found that while the 2017 percentage of mobile phone scams was 3.7 percent of all calls, the amount skyrocketed to 29.2 percent in 2018. First Orion also projects the percentage will climb to more than 44 percent of the total calls by early 2019.
3. There Were Over 30,200 Internet Scams in 2018 by August
Internet scams are rampant. Some aim to coerce people into buying products advertised with misleading images and descriptions. Others convince people that they’re the lucky winners of contests they never entered. Much like lottery scammers trick people into paying money to claim their prizes or trying to get them to disclose bank details, internet scammers target news that’s often too good to be true.
The Better Business Bureau has a Scam Tracker that keeps tabs on Internet scams. As of August 2018, the interface registered 30,263 scams for the year. To put that in perspective, there were 45,866 scams in all of 2017.
4. Fake Ad Traffic-Generating Apps Downloaded More Than 115 Million Times
It’s so easy for people to download apps onto their phones that many don’t think twice before tapping their screens to complete the process. Unfortunately, scammers know the ease of access to apps makes those effective downloads targets.
In October 2018, news broke about more than 100 Android apps used to generate artificial traffic and dupe advertisers out of millions of dollars. People collectively installed them on more than 115 occasions, and the most popular app received 20 million downloads. Google removed the fake apps after discovering the issue, which reportedly involved content ranging from games to a healthy eating app.
5. More Than 600 Individuals Charged in Health Care Fraud Schemes in Excess of $2 Billion
Health care fraud is not simple to pinpoint because it can involve so many parties, such as physicians or pharmacists. However, in the summer of 2018, federal authorities announced the largest health care fraud takedown in history.
There were more than 600 people charged in health care related fraud cases, with Medicare-related scams a particular focus of the operation.
Other wrongdoings included physicians who improperly prescribed opiates or otherwise aided in their unlawful distribution. But, this kind of fraud happens online, too.
In August 2018, the Social Security Administration published a warning about sites that may use Medicare logos and otherwise seem legitimate, but only exist to charge people for Medicare and SSA services they could get for free.
6. 63 Percent of Businesses Experiencing More Fraudulent Online Losses
Although many scams target consumers, businesses come into scammers’ crosshairs, too. When Experian looked at the worldwide impacts of fraud and identity theft, the company polled 5,500 people from 11 countries for its 2018 Global Fraud and Identity Report. The report’s statistics were from June-October 2017 ” the most recent findings available at the time.
Several questions focused on how business representatives felt regarding online fraud. In one case, 63 percent of respondents said they experienced the same number or more fraud losses in the last 12 months compared to the previous year.
Avoiding Scams Requires Constant Vigilance
The variety of scams on this list shows that they take numerous forms, and people cannot blindly accept news from strangers as true.
Instead, it’s necessary to perform careful research before acting on an offer or believing its validity. Businesses must exercise the same carefulness, to protect their operations and customers.
