Spam robo calls from sources pretending to be government agencies are up in B.C.: new survey
They’ve been calling you for years, claiming you’re in legal trouble with the border services agency or the CRA. Sometimes the threats are jarring, sometimes they’re laughable. Usually you hang up right away, but occasionally it’s funny to listen to the entire recording.
Sometimes the recording is in English, other times it’s in a language you might not understand.
Spam robo calls are an ongoing issue for mobile phone users in B.C. and have increased in frequency over the past two years, according to a survey from Research Co. polling company.
A survey of B.C. residents shows that over the past two months 50 per cent of those with mobile phones have been targeted with calls from people pretending to represent a government agency. That’s an increase of 15 percentage points from when the polling company asked the same question about two years ago, in Sept. 2019.
Men reported receiving the phone calls more (52 per cent) than women, and those in the age range of 35 to 54 were most likely to be targeted (58 per cent.)
And the incidence of receiving a robo call in Cantonese or Mandarin has increased by 20 percentage points since 2019.
”Just over half of mobile phone users in British Columbia say they have received phone calls and/or phone messages where an individual speaks Cantonese or Mandarin in the past two months,” reads a statement from the polling company.
And, those living in Metro Vancouver were also more likely to report receiving a call in Cantonese or Mandarin, with 61 per cent reporting such calls.
The rise in robo calls stands in stark contrast to text messages asking about which political parties a person supports, which decreased by half since 2019.
“Only 18 per cent of mobile phone users in British Columbia received a text message asking if they support a specific party or policy from an individual they do not know in the past two months,” reads the Research Co. statement.
And, across the province, only 28 per cent of mobile phone users say they didn’t receive any of these types of messages in the past two months.
The survey results are based on an online study conducted from Dec. 21 to Dec. 23, 2021, among 800 adults in B.C. The data was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Freeland tables motion previewing omnibus budget bill
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass the sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget.
Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes related to the arrest of an NBA player that triggered a public outcry.
New cancer treatment approved, but not everyone thinks it's what's best for patients
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
T. rex is at the centre of a debate over dinosaur intelligence
Surmising even the physical appearance of a dinosaur - or any extinct animal - based on its fossils is a tricky proposition, with so many uncertainties involved. Assessing a dinosaur's intelligence, considering the innumerable factors contributing to that trait, is exponentially more difficult.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.