Folks in MS among most targeted for scam calls, study says. Here’s how to protect yourself
Mississippians are among the most targeted residents in the United States for scam calls, according to a recent study.
Residents of the Magnolia State receive the most unwanted calls per capita nationally, with more than 50 million scam calls each month, according to the September study by Truecaller, a caller ID and call blocking app. Mississippians also receive more than 2 million scam text messages each month, according to the study.
The Mississippi Department of Revenue issued a warning against scam text messages impacting the state, according to an Oct. 13 post on Facebook.
The scam texts appear to be from the Department of Revenue or the Department of Motor Vehicles and ask for payment to cover traffic violations, toll charges or other fines, according to the statement.
“The department will never request payment or request personal banking information via text message,” officials said.
In August, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 50 other state attorneys general sent letters to 37 telecommunications companies urging them to stop robocalls coming through their networks, according to a news release.
“These calls and texts are more than a nuisance; they are often the gateway to scams,” Fitch said in the statement.
Here’s what you need to know about scam calls in Mississippi.
Where do scam calls come from?
Of the billions of scam calls received by Americans each month, less than 10% originate from outside the country, according to Truecaller’s study.
A majority of scam calls — which make up the bulk of unwanted calls — are related to “credit card fraud, identity theft, medicare/insurance, social security, car warranty and debt collection,” the study found.
What to do if you receive a scam call
Here’s what you should do if you receive a scam call or text, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and the Department of Revenue:
- Hang up or delete the text
- Consider blocking the number
- Do not click on any links in the text
- Do not respond to the text
Which states receive the most unwanted calls?
These are the top 10 states that get the most scam calls per capita, according to Truecaller:
1. Mississippi
2. South Carolina
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Louisiana
6. North Carolina
7. Missouri
8. Oklahoma
9. Texas
10. Florida
Which states receive the least unwanted calls?
These are the states that receive the least amount of scam calls per capita, according to Truecaller:
1. Hawaii
2. Puerto Rico
3. Vermont
4. District of Columbia
5. North Dakota
How did call blocking app conduct study?
The information in the study is based on anonymized data sets specific to Truecaller customers in the U.S., according to the company. The data is compared with U.S. census data, according to Truecaller.
