Technology helps improve our lives, but it can also be used by others to damage them. Many people today receive scam calls trying to get them to give up private information, such as your social security number or bank information. These scam calls even affect teenagers, who in some cases, end up giving out their information without thinking of the consequences. In a poll taken by Bob Jones students, at least 87% of the students who had taken the poll had received scam calls before. 

Fortunately, most students reported that they’d not given out any information. Our school has done a good job of keeping students informed of scams and about the dangers our age of technology brings us today. Others may not be so fortunate to have a school that keeps them informed. 

WHNT said, “Scammers spoof common numbers of local companies, like Huntsville Utilities, or global companies like Apple.” The Huntsville Utilities scam continues to target the elderly and small businesses, but anyone could fall for it if they weren’t careful. Some of the trickier scams do involve local businesses like using Redstone Federal Credit Union’s name.

Students were also asked whether or not they believed teens were vulnerable to scam callers, and most students thought younger students were the most vulnerable. Payton Childress, a junior at Bob Jones said, “ Yes, teens do not know what to do when answering a phone call, especially when they do not know who the person is. Normally they will give their information out, not knowing if it is safe or not because they have not been taught when a caller is safe or not.”

Shelby West, also a Bob Jones junior, said, “Teens might be more likely to answer a spam call, especially younger teens, because they might think that someone they know gave someone their number, or that it’s from a relative they don’t have a contact for.” 

Younger teens are more vulnerable than anyone, but with proper education, these scam attacks can be properly avoided.