San Antonio is the U.S. city receiving the highest number of stimulus check-related scam calls
Posted By Sanford Nowlin on Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 10:30 AM
- UnSplash / Jonas Leupe
- Texas was the most targeted state, accounting for 13% of June calls.
San Antonio was the U.S. city most targeted by criminals running phone scams related to COVID-19 stimulus checks, according to a new study by tech firm Hiya.
Stimulus check scams doubled in each of the past two months, reaching an all-time high of more than 1.1 million calls so far in June, according to the company’s analysis of more than 13 billion phone calls monthly.
Texas was the most targeted state, accounting for 13% of the June scam calls, while California (9%) and Florida (6%) were also frequent targets.
San Antonio’s 210 area code was the most frequently targeted out of any in the United States, according to the study. Dallas’ 214 and Fort Worth’s 817 were in second and third place.
The most common stimulus-related scam involves a scammer stealing a victim’s identity by claiming they need to verify personal information such as a Social Security Number to receive their check. Scammers also frequently ask for a victim’s bank data by falsely claiming that can expedite the deposit.
Hiya’s report recommends that people decline calls from numbers they don’t recognize and to understand that callers from federal agencies don’t ask for bank account details or other sensitive personal information.
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