Truecaller : U.S. Hispanics Face Double the Risk of Financial Loss from Scam Calls Reveals New Study

U.S. Hispanics Face Double the Risk of Financial Loss from Scam Calls Reveals New Study

Alarming Discovery: U.S. Hispanics experience repeated phone scam victimization at a rate 69%

higher than non-Hispanics

AI Advancements Forecasted to Heighten Confusion Among Latino Communities on

Distinguishing Fraud from Authenticity

APRIL. 25, 2024 - Truecaller, the world's leading caller ID and spam blocking app, has uncovered startling findings from its latest U.S. Scam Report for 2024, revealing Hispanics in the United States are twice as likely to lose money to phone scams compared to non-Hispanics, with 30% reporting financial losses in the past 12 months alone. Latinos in the U.S. reported experiencing mobile phone scams at a rate more than double that of non-Hispanics (23% versus 11%). Repeated scam victimization is another area of concern, with 22% of Hispanics reporting being victims of phone scams more than once - a rate 69% higher than reported by non-Hispanics.

The report, based on comprehensive research conducted in collaboration with The Harris Poll, unveils staggering statistics that underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and heightened awareness.

Robocall scams, in particular, disproportionately impact Hispanics, with the report revealing that they are three times more likely than non-Hispanic to have lost money to a phone scam originating from a robocall in the past year (16% vs. 5%). This underscores the urgent need for enhanced measures to combat this specific type of scam and protect vulnerable individuals within the Hispanic community.

"Hispanics are facing a disproportionate threat from scam calls, resulting in significant financial losses and undue stress," said Clayton LiaBraaten, Senior Executive Advisor and Industry Spokesperson at Truecaller. "This year's findings indicated 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-profileexample of the types of threats facing the everyday person. 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 report also delves into the frequency of spam communication among Hispanics, revealing that on average, Hispanics receive 21 spam calls and 14.6 text messages per month. The frequency of these unsolicited communications underscores the pervasive nature of the issue and its potential to cause significant disruption and distress among the Latino population.

Types of Suspicious Communications Received by U.S. Hispanics:

• Vehicle-related(e.g., extended warranty): 40%
• Too-good-to-be-truescams: 40%
• Delivery updates for packages: 38%
• Political calls/texts: 33%
• Account access alerts: 31%
• Tax calls/texts (claiming to be from the IRS): 31%
• Student loan calls/texts: 30% (36% higher than non-Hispanics at 22%)
• Technical support/cybersecurity: 29%
• Medicare calls/texts: 24%
• Travel-related:22%
• Electronics deals: 20%
• Love & Relationships: 18%
• Intimidation calls/texts: 17%

The reported disparity underscores the financial vulnerability faced by many within the Hispanic community, necessitating targeted support and resources to mitigate the impact of fraudulent activities. Truecaller's campaign, "Conectados con Nuestra Herencia" was launched earlier this year in response to the Latino segment's over-indexing on fraud and spam calls.

Impact of Spam on Hispanics:

• 68% of Hispanics feel they might miss a legitimate call due to suspicion of spam and not answering, 21% higher than the non-Hispanic population (56%).
• 63% believe certain cellphone carriers receive more spam calls, 21% more than non- Hispanics (52%).
• 58% feel threatened by scammers using AI voice cloning
• 49% missed an important call because the Caller ID was incorrect, marked as SPAM, or blocked, 75% higher than non-Hispanics (28%).

The 2024 Truecaller US 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. This is the ninth time the survey has been conducted over the last 10 years.

About Truecaller

We enable safe and relevant conversations between people and make it efficient for businesses to connect with consumers. Fraud and unwanted communication are endemic to digital economies, especially in emerging markets. We are on a mission to build trust in communication. Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for over 374 million active users, with more than a billion downloads since launch. Headquartered in Stockholm, since 2009, we are a co-founder-led, entrepreneurial company, with a highly experienced management team. Truecaller has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since Oct 8th 2021. For more information, please visit www.truecaller.com