The 5 phone scams to watch out for - as fraudsters target victims across age groups

Members of Gen Z are increasingly the target by phone scams.

Adults aged 18 to 24 have been struggling with differentiating between which calls are real and which are setups. 

More than half of all people in that age group who reported being the victim of a financial scam cited phone fraudsters as the culprits, according to a GOBankingRates survey of more than 1,100 adults in the U.S.

The five types of phone scams identified in the survey include business and investment scams, impersonator scams, and debt relief and credit repair, charity scams and prize scams.

 Generation Z has been massively getting targeted by phone scams (stock image)

In business and investment scams, a caller falsely guarantees that the target will be successful by starting your their business or by making an investment.

An investment will be requested of the recipient, and many who fall for the hope of economic gain invest their money, only to never see it again.

The second kind of scam is one that involves impersonation.

In impersonation scams, the caller poses as a government agent, law officer, court official, representative of a recognizable business, or even a family member.

The impersonator creates a fake problem and a sense of urgency for the target to help them solve their dilemma.

In debt relief and credit repair scams, the target is offered a lower credit card interest rate, a credit score improvement, or even loan forgiveness, if a fee is paid.

This fraud not only leads to the loss of money, but it runs a massive risk of ruining the victims credit score.

The five types of frauds include business and investment scams, impersonator scams, and debt relief and credit repair (stock image)

In charity scams, which prey on the targets empathy, the fraudster pretends to be a charitable organization seeking donations. 

Anyone interested in helping charities should do extensive research to make sure that the organization is real, and donate through legitimate websites.

In prize scams, the caller informs the target that they have won something, but that they need to pay taxes, registration fees or for shipping in order to receive it.

for these calls, its best to end the phone call and block the caller.

Even if the caller ID looks legitimate, it can be manipulated to seem official. 

Victims of phone scams can seek help through ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

For those who havent lost any money, they can still report a caller through DoNotCall.gov.