YouMail Launches National Robocall Index to Help Consumers Identify And Block Top Sources of Automated Calls

Debt Collectors, Fraudsters, and Telemarketers Top 683 Million Robocalls Placed in the U.S. Last Month

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Nov 12, 2015, 08:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- YouMail, the leading provider of intelligent telecommunication services for consumers and small businesses, today launched the YouMail Robocall Index™, a free monthly report that tracks robocall volume across the U.S. The data is based on callers blocked and/or reported as spam by millions of YouMail subscribers nationwide. YouMail has analyzed billions of calls and determined robocall patterns used by the majority of telemarketers and both legal and illegal robocalling operations.

Highlights:

Bank and Retail Debt Collectors Top List of Most Placed Robocalls in October
An Estimated 683 Million Robocalls were Placed to U.S. Phones in October
New York City was the Most Robocalled City in October
Two of the Top 5 Most Robocalled Cities are in Texas

Roughly one in six phone calls received by the average consumer is a robocall—a computer-generated phone call that can range from dangerous phishing scams and annoying sales calls to important doctor appointments or bill-pay reminders. There are more than 80 million scam or fraudulent calls made each month alone, taking an estimated $8.6 billion from unsuspecting consumers and businesses last year alone. What's more, small businesses in the U.S. waste an estimated 20 million hours per year dealing with unwanted robocalls and this translates to at least $475 million in lost productivity annually. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) receives approximately 300,000 robocall complaints each month, and many states' attorney generals say that robocalls are one of the top consumer complaints that they receive.

YouMail is an automated personal receptionist for iOS and Android-based smartphones. The service helps subscribers better manage incoming phone calls with a host of innovative features that improve caller care, privacy, and productivity. The service includes a proprietary technology called Smart Blocking™ that detects robocalls -- including those generated by spoofing systems, and tricks them into thinking that the subscriber's number has been disconnected, so calls stop coming in. Subscribers simply ignore calls, and YouMail does the hard job of deciding whether it's a robocall or spam call and plays the caller an out of service message so that the robocaller won't keep calling. YouMail has blocked tens of millions of calls and prevented millions more from ever occurring because fraudsters think those numbers have been disconnected. Having answered billions of calls for subscribers since 2007, the company is uniquely positioned to aggregate its calling data and index robocall trends in this public report.

"Despite the pervasive robocall epidemic and the increasing aggressiveness of robocallers due to the difficulty of prosecution, there are no definitive data currently being published on robocalls that give consumers and lawmakers a comprehensive view of the problem. That's where the YouMail Robocall Index comes in," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "The Index provides a snapshot of robocall volume, who the major offenders are, and which areas are receiving the most robocalls in a given month."

Based on aggregated subscriber data, YouMail estimates that nearly 683 million robocalls were placed to American citizens in the month of October, reflecting a 21 percent decrease vs. September. Seventeen of the Top-20 robocallers in the month of October were debt collectors—mostly banking and retail credit card service providers checking on late balances. The four most-prolific robocallers that were not debt collectors included a cable company sales call, a health insurance sales call, a bank telemarketing survey, and a prison scam in which callers tried to convince unsuspecting consumers to pay exorbitant call connection fees to bail someone out of jail.

Analysis– September 2015 - October 2015:

New York City received the most robocalls nationally in both September and October, with more than 60 million robocalls received in October alone. Atlanta came in second place with an estimated 39,439,500 robocalls in October and third-place Los Angeles garnered 37,602,500 robocalls. Two of the Top-5 U.S. cities most targeted by robocallers were in the state of Texas. The most pestered city in Texas during the month of October was fourth-place Dallas with an estimated 32,326,500 robocalls received. Houston checked in at number five with 30,823,500 robocalls received. Rounding out the Top-10 were Chicago (29,388,500 robocalls), Baltimore (20,299,500 robocalls), San Francisco Bay Area (17,908,000 robocalls), Phoenix (17,449,500 robocalls), and Detroit (16,904,000 robocalls).

Two of the Top-5 most-prolific non-toll-free robocall numbers in the U.S. (based on estimated call volume) came from Milwaukee, Wis. The most-prolific robocaller in October was based in the 262 area code and placed an estimated 8,995,500 robocalls. The second-most prolific robocaller was in the 614 area code, based in Columbus, Ohio, (7,209,500 robocalls placed). Rounding out the Top-5 was a number in the 720 area code (Denver, Colo.,: 6,264,000 robocalls placed); a number in the 330 area code (Akron, Ohio,: 5,175,000 robocalls placed); and a number in the 414 area code (Milwaukee) with an estimated 4,955,500 robocalls placed.

Robocalls have been a major public concern for decades, but legislative attempts to curtail them, including the 2003 National Do-Not-Call Registry, have been largely ineffective as robocallers can place thousands of calls in seconds from overseas dialers outside of FCC jurisdiction. A resolution passed by the FCC in June gave the FCC greater authority to fine spammers and spoofers, and allows telephone carriers to offer robocall-blocking services to customers.

"Robocallers are dangerous – much more so than email spammers because we tend to trust caller ID more than email addresses. Organizations are getting more sophisticated by spoofing local numbers and caller IDs which makes them harder to detect. It's impossible to block calls at the source because every call takes a different tack," Quilici said. "A robocaller can place more than 60,000 calls in a single day, and will change their numbers frequently, rendering numbers-based blocking solutions virtually ineffective," he added. "Algorithm-based blockers like YouMail are the most effective way to find robocall relief because they can detect unnatural call patterns and stop robocalls in their tracks."

For more information about the YouMail Robocall Index or to view the latest report, please visit: http://www.youmail.com/phone-lookup/robocall-index. To join the YouMail Robocall Index mailing list, please write to: [email protected].

About YouMail, Inc.

YouMail, Inc. (http://www.youmail.com) is the leading provider of intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. The company's flagship service, also known as YouMail, provides a digital personal receptionist for handling phone calls that replaces the subscriber's voicemail on iPhone, Android, and Windows phones. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., YouMail, Inc. is backed by VantagePoint Capital Partners, Wavemaker Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels ACE Fund, the CrunchFund, the Tech Coast Angels, and numerous private investors.

Contact:
Liana Hawes (212) 239-8477
J. Bonasia (415) 730-5017
[email protected]

Top 50 Most Robocalled Cities
YOUMAIL ROBOCALL INDEX – OCTOBER 2015

Rank	City-Area	Est. Calls Rec.	Change (M:M)	% Chg.	Last Rank	Rank Chg.
1	New York, NY	60,104,000	11,415,500	23%	1	NC
2	Atlanta, GA	39,439,500	-6,958,500	-15%	2	NC
3	Los Angeles, CA	37,602,500	-5,631,500	-13%	3	NC
4	Dallas, TX	32,326,500	-4,069,000	-11%	4	NC
5	Houston, TX	30,823,500	-3,197,000	-12%	6	+1
6	Chicago, IL	29,388,500	-5,580,500	-14%	5	-1
7	Baltimore, MD	20,299,500	-3,632,500	-15%	7	NC
8	San Francisco Bay Area	17,908,000	-2,180,500	-11%	8	NC
9	Phoenix, AZ	17,449,500	-1,502,500	-12%	10	+1
10	Detroit, MI	16,904,000	-2,994,500	-11%	9	-1
11	Philadelphia, PA	16,712,500	-1,835,000	-11%	12	+1
12	Newark, NJ	16,495,500	-2,345,500	-12%	11	-1
13	Miami, FL	13,607,000	-1,029,000	-7%	15	+2
14	Riverside, CA	12,925,000	-2,841,500	-16%	13	-1
15	San Diego, CA	12,866,000	-2,543,500	-12%	14	-1
16	Orlando, FL	10,999,500	-1,370,000	-11%	18	+2
17	Charlotte, NC	10,869,500	-2,275,500	-17%	16	-1
18	Seattle, WA	9,478,500	-15,500	0%	27	+9
19	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	9,313,000	-2,562,000	-22%	19	NC
20	Tampa, FL	9,118,000	-847,500	-9%	22	+2
21	Birmingham, AL	8,847,500	-1,648,000	-16%	21	NC
22	Cleveland, OH	8,760,000	-2,418,000	-22%	20	-2
23	Las Vegas, NV	8,758,500	-396,000	-4%	31	+7
24	New Orleans, LA	8,757,500	-3,693,500	-30%	17	-7
25	Buffalo, NY	8,697,000	-1,110,500	-11%	24	-1
26	Memphis, TN	8,199,000	-1,194,000	-13%	29	+3
27	Bakersfield, CA	8,061,500	-1,736,000	-18%	25	-2
28	Sacramento, CA	8,009,500	-1,458,000	-15%	28	NC
29	Baton Rouge, LA	7,784,000	-1,901,000	-20%	26	-3
30	Virginia Peninsula	7,679,500	-681,500	-8%	35	+5
31	Boston, MA	7,615,500	-2,278,000	-23%	23	-8
32	Augusta, GA	7,614,500	-1,042,000	-12%	33	+1
33	Columbus, OH	7,466,500	1,083,500	17%	NR	NR
34	Camden, NJ	7,056,000	-867,000	-11%	40	+6
35	Denver, CO	6,997,000	-746,500	-10%	41	+6
36	St. Louis, MO	6,940,500	-90,500	-17%	36	NC
37	San Antonio, TX	6,899,500	-131,500	-2%	48	+11
38	Shreveport, LA	6,897,500	-1,155,500	-14%	39	+1
39	Indianapolis, IN	6,817,500	1,321,000	24%	NR	NR
40	New Haven, CT	6,786,500	157,000	2%	50	+10
41	Raleigh, NC	6,674,500	-1,902,000	-22%	32	-9
42	Columbia, SC	6,596,000	-1,980,500	-23%	34	-8
43	Brooklyn, NY	6,515,000	-1,659,000	-20%	37	-6
44	Long Beach, CA	6,426,000	-1,213,000	-16%	42	-2
45	Washington, DC	6,282,500	-1,261,500	-17%	43	-2
46	Fayetteville, NC	6,275,500	-1,115,000	-15%	45	-1
47	Tyler, TX	6,265,000	-2,022,000	-24%	NR	NR
48	Greensboro, NC	6,243,000	-204,500	-3%	NR	NR
49	Austin, TX	6,240,500	-207,000	-3%	NR	NR
50	Montgomery, AL	6,195,500	-1,296,500	-17%	44	-6

NR=Not Ranked in previous month; NC=No Change from previous month.
National call volume estimates extrapolated from YouMail user data.