A Record 5.1 Billion Robocalls in October for YouMail Robocall Index

Robocalls Rise 15.9% Over the Prior Month, and 104.7% Over October of One Year-Ago

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Nov 08, 2018, 09:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's robocalling trend continues to grow, setting a new monthly record of 5.1 billion robocalls received nationwide in October, which marks the first time the monthly total has topped 5 billion robocalls since the YouMail Robocall Index launched in 2015. The number of calls in October more than doubled those made in January. This volume equaled some 170 million calls placed every day during October, or 1,973 robocalls for every second of the month, both new records.

"Every time we think the robocall epidemic has peaked, it turns out it hasn't," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "Carriers, call-blocking apps like YouMail, and consumers all have critical roles to play in finally making inroads to stopping this troubling problem."

Robocalls Continue to Be Driven by Scams

Combined scam and telemarketing calls continued to account for roughly 60% of all robocalls, with over 2.1 billion scam calls, and well over 3 billion combined calls made in October. That is an enormous number of calls which the majority of consumers just do not want to receive.

Type of Robocall	Estimated Oct. Robocalls	Percentage of Oct. Robocalls
Alerts and Reminders	885 million (+162 million)	17% (+1%)
Payment Reminders	1.175 billion (+175 million)	23% (flat)
Telemarketing	912 million (+35 million)	18% (-2%)
Scams	2.140 billion (+340 million)	42% (1%)

The top five scam types remained identical between September and October. The main change involved Health Insurance Scams that continued to increase in volume, with an estimated 500 million such calls made in October. In perhaps some good news, Easy Money Scams, Interest Rate Scams and Search Listing Scams all declined in volume.

Rank	Type of Scam	Estimated Sept Robocalls	Summary of Scam
1	Health/Health Insurance Scams	499.8m (+91 million)	Identify theft/scam payments
2	Easy Money Scams	144.4m (-43 million)	Pay to make money/get job
3	Interest Rate Scams	132.3m (-14 million)	Identity theft
4	Student Loan Scams	101.7m (+27 million)	Identify theft/scam payments
5	Search Listing Scams	100.8 m (-13 million)	Pay to maintain search listing

This Month's Winners

The cities, area codes and states with the highest volumes of robocalls in October were:

City with the Most Calls:	Atlanta, GA (219.8 million)
City with the Most Calls/Person:	Washington, DC (53.6)
Area Code with the Most Calls:	404 in Atlanta, GA (95.8 million)
Area Code with the Most Calls/Person:	404 in Atlanta, GA (78.3)
State with the Most Calls:	Texas (593 million)
State with the Most Calls/Person:	Louisiana (31.2)

2018 Timeline: The Year Thus Far

Consumers have seen an increase in robocalls this past year, and the problem continues to persist despite efforts by regulatory bodies like the FCC to limit the issue. Below is a timeline showing robocall volumes since the beginning of 2018:

Month	Calls/Month	Calls/Day	Calls/Hour	Call/Minute	Calls/Second
Oct. 2018	5.1 billion	170.4 million	7.1 million	118,362	1,973
Sept. 2018	4.4 billion	147.0 million	6.1 million	102,060	1,701
Aug. 2018	4.2 billion	136.1 million	5.7 million	94,548	1,576
Jul. 2018	4.0 billion	129.0 million	5.4 million	89,603	1,493
Jun. 2018	4.1 billion	137.4 million	5.7 million	95,479	1,591
May 2018	4.1 billion	130.9 million	5.5 million	90,961	1,516
Apr. 2018	3.4 billion	112.0 million	4.7 million	77,802	1,297
Mar. 2018	3.2 billion	101.8 million	4.2 million	70,695	1,178
Feb. 2018	2.8 billion	98.1 million	4.1 million	68,149	1,136
Jan. 2018	2.9 billion	95.8 million	34.0 million	64,408	1,073

These latest monthly figures come from YouMail, a free robocall blocking solution for mobile phones. YouMail blocks unwanted robocallers by making sure the user's phone doesn't ring, and then plays an out-of-service message that leads them to think they dialed an invalid number. YouMail identifies problematic numbers and robocalls using a combination of its recently patented audio fingerprinting technology, call patterns, and consumer feedback.

YouMail provides the YouMail Robocall Index to estimate of robocall volume across the country and for specific area codes each month. This estimate is formed by extrapolating from the behavior of the billions of calls YouMail has handled for its users, and these statistics are regularly cited by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a definitive source for national data trends.

For a full ranking of cities, states and area codes, as well as details on the behavior of robocallers in each area code, please see http://robocallindex.com. To listen to actual voice messages left by robocallers, please visit the YouMail Directory. To join the YouMail Robocall Index mailing list, please write to [email protected].

About YouMail, Inc.

YouMail, Inc. is the leading provider of intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. The company's flagship service provides an automated virtual receptionist that replaces the subscriber's voicemail on iPhone, Android, and Windows phones. This service stops robocalls, and delights other callers by instantly greeting, routing, and responding to them, personally and memorably, and even provides free conference calls. YouMail also provides data on problematic phone number behavior, through a reverse phone lookup service that allows anyone to identify and comment on suspicious numbers, an application program interface (API) that any telecom service provider or third-party developer can use to determine whether a number is problematic, and the YouMail Robocall Index™, which since its launch in in September 2015 has emerged as the nation's definitive source on robocalling data for telecom carriers, smartphone and app companies, and public policymakers. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., YouMail, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is privately funded.