2 Out of 3 in BC Have Received Scam Phone Calls in Cantonese, Mandarin

Nearly 60 percent of British Columbians have received foreign scam phone calls or messages in Cantonese or Mandarin in recent months, according to a new Research Co. poll. What’s unclear, however, is whether the situation is improving or getting worse. According to the poll of 800 adults in B.C. conducted Dec. 8–10, 2023, 59 percent of mobile phone users had received phone calls or messages in Cantonese or Mandarin over the past two months. That number is up 8 percent from a similar poll conducted in December 2021. “Mobile phone users in British Columbia aged 55 and over are more likely to receive calls or messages in a foreign language (63%) than their counterparts aged 18-to-34 (53%),” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “Conversely, about one-in-four mobile phone users in British Columbia aged 18-to-34 (24%) have dealt with messages of a political nature over the past two months.”...