National Robocalling Volumes Continue to Shatter Monthly Records

IRVINE, Calif., May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- National robocalling volumes set a record for the second straight month as Americans were blasted by 3.36 billion robocalls in April, marking a 6.5% increase over the previous record set in March, and a stunning 34.4% increase over April of last year. That accelerated pace of calling equaled roughly 1,297 robocalls placed every second of the month nationwide, or some 112 million calls for each day in April, a 10.2% increase in calls/day. The monthly total for April marks the country's highest robocalling rate since the YouMail Robocall Index was launched in 2015.

Despite an increasing focus on this problem by legislators, consumer groups, telecom carriers and device makers, the nation's robocalling problem continues to grow at an alarming rate. Fully 47 of the 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America, or 94% of U.S. metro regions, registered month-on-month increases in their robocalling volumes during April.

These latest monthly figures come from YouMail, a free solution for both mobile phones and landlines that helps consumers stop robocalls from ever reaching their 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 that the number they dialed is invalid.

The YouMail Robocall Index™ is a compilation of the scope and location of the worst robocalling hotspots across the country by area code, and these statistics are regularly cited by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a definitive source for national data trends.

"Despite the best efforts of regulators, industry groups, service providers, and app developers, we are warning consumers to remain vigilant by not picking up any calls from unfamiliar numbers, using robocall blocking apps, and researching numbers before calling them back," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail.

Locations Getting the Most Robocalls: Atlanta Retains Standing as Nation's #1 Robocalling Hotspot

Atlanta held onto its dubious distinction as leader of the YouMail Most Robocalled Cities in America list for the 29^th straight month. Atlanta residents were blitzed by 147.9 million robocalls in April, a 7% month-on-month increase in calling volumes.  In addition, Atlanta had three area codes make the Top 20 Most Robocalled Area Code list for April, including area codes 404, 678 and 770.

Two new cities broke into the Top 50 list in April, including #46 Long Beach, CA, with 22.3 million calls received; and #49 Austin, TX, with 21.8 million calls received. Long Beach also ranked as the biggest "mover" of the month with a 16% gain in local calls over March; followed by Riverside, CA (up 14%); and San Diego (up 13%).

Smaller cities that posted huge gains in robocall volumes for April included Lincoln, NE (up 154.8%); Southfield, MI (up 85.4%); Charlotte Amalie, VI (up 31.0%); Rochester, MN (up 28.5%); and Beaman, IA (up 25.7%).

California held onto its #1 spot as the Most Robocalled State for the month of April, with 384.4 million calls received. Texas ranked a close second with 363.3 million calls received. New Mexico had the biggest percentage increase in monthly robocalls of any state (up 16.2%); followed by South Dakota (up 14.7%); North Dakota (up 14.6%); Vermont (up 13.0%); and South Carolina (up 11.9%).

Locations Making the Most Robocalls: Chicago Retakes the Lead as the Most Prolific Robocalling City

Chicago reclaimed the top spot as the city generating the most robocalls in April, with 106.5 million calls placed. Other leading cities in the Top 5 included #2 Los Angeles (with 93.5 million calls made); #3 New York (85.8 million); #4 Dallas (81.7 million); and #5 Newark (71.0 million).

For the first time in the history of the YouMail Robocall Index, nine cities each placed more than 50 million robocalls in the month, including Chicago, L.A., New York, Dallas, Newark, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and Seattle.

California was the most prolific robocalling state in April, with 275.3 million calls placed, followed closely by Texas with 234.6 million. Wyoming notched the biggest percentage increase in outbound robocall volumes for April by growing 130.0% over March. Other big "movers" by state included North Carolina (up 59.2%); Oregon (up 41.6%); Vermont (up 35.6%); and New Mexico (up 33.8%).

Washington, D.C.'s 202 area code was the nation's most prolific robocalling area code in April, with 38.9 million calls placed. Chicago had two area codes break into the Top 5 list, including the 773 area code (32.5 million) and the 312 area code (30.5 million). Texas placed three area codes on the Top 20 Most Prolific Robocalling Area Codes list, including the 210, 469 and 972 area codes. Florida had two area codes make the Top 20 list, including the 954 and 407 area codes.

For more information about the YouMail Robocall Index or to view the latest report, please visit http://robocallindex.com. 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.

Contact:
Keya Balar for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected]
646-791-9600

SOURCE YouMail, Inc.

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