Record-Smashing 5.7 Billion Robocalls in October, Says YouMail Robocall Index
National Robocall Volumes Leap By 25% Month-Over-Month
Nov 05, 2019, 09:00 ET
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans received a record-breaking 5.7 billion robocalls in October, a 25% increase from September, and a 7% increase over the previous all-time high of 5.2 billion robocalls in March 2019. With this latest jump, the U.S. has received roughly 49 billion robocalls already this year, more than were received during the full year of 2018.
The month of October averaged over 182 million robocalls per day alone, or 2,115 robocalls per second. That pace marked an average of 30 million-plus additional robocalls per day hitting U.S. consumers versus September. These latest monthly figures come from YouMail, a totally free robocall blocking app for mobile phones.
"Here we go again – October's record robocall volume reminds us there's a long way to go before the robocall problem is solved," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "It's hard to imagine, but we are still on pace to wind up with nearly 60 billion calls to U.S. consumers this year."
All Categories of Calls Increase in October
Scam calls in October led the increase with a roughly 32% increase, but all categories increased volumes materially.
Type of Robocall |
Estimated October Robocalls |
Percentage of October Robocalls |
Alerts and Reminders |
1.248 billion (+19%) |
22% (-1%) |
Payment Reminders |
1.093 million (+25%) |
19% |
Telemarketing |
671 million (+24%) |
12% |
Scams |
2.65 billion (+32%) |
47% (+1%) |
Top Scam Robocalls in October 2019
In October, five types of scams exceeded more than 100 million calls each, with Health-Related Scams up 29% and Interest Rate scams up 13% over September.
Rank |
Type of Scam |
Estimated October Robocalls |
Summary of Scam |
1 |
Health-Related Scams |
473.3m (+21%) |
Identity theft/scam payments/illegal |
2 |
Interest Rate Scams |
236.3.m (+26%) |
Identify theft/financial scams |
3 |
Student Loan Scams |
218.5m (+24%) |
Identify theft/scam payments |
4 |
Social Security Scams |
153.7m (+7%) |
Identify theft/scam payments |
5 |
Warranty Scams |
105.1m (-17%) |
Scam payments/illegal solicitations |
Here are the top 5 specific annoying telemarketing and/or scam calls that people received in the U.S. during October, which are all related to illegal lead generation for health insurance or scams related to lowered interest rates.
The top 5 campaigns added up to over 320 million collective robocalls in October, marking a big 50% increase from the 320 million seen in September.
"Winners" in October 2019
The cities, area codes and states with the highest volumes of robocalls in September were similar to the volumes from August, though all the leaders experienced decreased volumes.
City with the Most Robocalls: |
Atlanta, GA (221.0 million, +27%) |
City with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
Washington, DC (57.4/person, +20%) |
Area Code with the Most Robocalls: |
404 in Atlanta, GA (93.0 million, +26%) |
Area Code with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
404 in Atlanta, GA (76.1/person, +26%) |
State with the Most Robocalls: |
Texas (636 million, +25%) |
State with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
Louisiana (35.1/person, +22%) |
This data is provided by YouMail, a free robocall blocking app for mobile phones. YouMail recently won the American Business Awards' Gold Stevie Award for Technical Innovation of the Year, and the YouMail app was named the nation's best robocall-blocking solution in a competition organized by Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post.
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 robocall volume across the country and for specific area codes every 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 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. provides imaginative, intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. These include its free app-based service to block robocalls, and its premium call management services for people who use their mobile phone for business. YouMail's services free users from limitations of their mobile phone or carrier – protecting against unwanted calls, helping them handle high volumes of mobile calls, unifying virtual numbers with their cell number, and providing personalized answering experiences for their callers. YouMail has stopped over a billion robocalls, has given hundreds of millions of callers the experience they deserve, and has delighted millions of users. The YouMail Robocall Index™, 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:
Rohan Notaney for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected]
650-814-9651
SOURCE YouMail, Inc.
