Robocalls Spike 27% Year-Over-Year to 2.88 Billion Calls Nationwide in January

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. telephones were besieged by 2.88 billion robocalls in January, a 27% increase in national robocalling volumes over January 2017, and a 3.4% increase over the prior month's results in December 2017.

These latest figures come from YouMail, a free solution for both mobile phones and landlines that helps consumers stop robocalls from ever reaching their phones. U.S. phones endured 92.7 million robocalls each day in January on average, or roughly 1,073 robocalls for every second of the month – that's the second highest pace of monthly robocalling since the YouMail Robocall Index was launched in 2015.

The YouMail Robocall Index™ is a compilation of the scope and location of the worst robocalling hotspots across the country by area code, whose statistics are cited by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a definitive source for national data trends. 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 data reveals that despite ongoing initiatives by the FCC and the major carriers, the robocall problem is not getting any better, and for much of the country, it is actually getting worse," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "We are advising frustrated consumers to download a robocall blocker and to not pick up any calls from numbers they do not recognize, and instead allow them to go directly into voicemail. Currently, that is the only clear-cut way to protect yourself and your family from unwanted robocalls."

Cities, Area Codes and States Enduring the Most Robocalls: Lowlights from January

Atlanta continued its dubious streak as the nation's Most Robocalled City for the 26^th month in a row, with 129.1 million calls received, marking a 2% increase over that city's total for December. Four other cities had over 100 million robocalls made to their residents, including New York, Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles.   

Cities in the 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America seeing meaningful increases in robocalls received included Minneapolis, reaching #50 with 17.7 million robocalls received, or a 7% increase over December; #37 Bakersfield, Calif. (up 16% to 21.4 million); and #38 Raleigh, N.C. (up 14% to 21.3 million). Several smaller cities and regions also recorded large percentage increases in robocalls received in January. They included Beaman, Iowa (up 28% to 221,300); Sharpsburg, Kentucky (up 19.4% to 415,300); Southern Virginia (up 19.2% to 268,600); and Fort Myers, Florida (up 15.4% to 982,600).

The 404 area code in Atlanta had the most robocalls per capita for the month, at 48 on average. Four other area codes had residents swamped with over 24 robocalls per resident in January: the 225 area code in Baton Rouge with 34; the 202 area code in Washington, DC with 33; the 347 in New York with 25; and the 901 area code in Memphis, TN with 24 robocalls per person per month.

In total, 42% of all cities on the 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America list for January were based in Southern states. The Most Robocalled Area Codes in January included four area codes in Texas (832, 214, 817 and 210) and four area codes in Georgia (404, 678, 770 and 706). In addition, three area codes in Florida also made the list (954, 407 and 305).

California unseated Texas to become the most robocalled state in January, with 319.6 million calls received, compared to 317.4 million for Texas. West Virginia posted the largest percentage increase of any state, gaining 13.5% in calls received in January, followed by Massachusetts (up 9.9%); Nevada (up 9.2%); New Jersey (up 8.1%); and North Carolina (up 6.7%).

The Nation's Worst Robocalling Locations: Lowlights from January

Texas reclaimed the #1 spot as the nation's most prolific robocalling state, increasing 7.4% over December to 238.6 million calls placed. Other states that produced the most robocalls in January included California (207.4 million); Florida (154.1 million); New York (128.7 million); and Ohio (97.3 million).

Vermont recorded the biggest percentage increase of outbound robocalls of any state by gaining 47.3% over December, followed by Iowa (up 37.9%); Wyoming (up 27.6%); Minnesota (up 26.5%); and Massachusetts (up 22.1%).

Dallas retained its distinction as the U.S. city making the most outbound robocalls, generating 85.2 million calls in January, an 8.1% increase over the previous month. Chicago retained its #2 position with 73.5 million outbound robocalls, followed by #3 Los Angeles with 71.0 million robocalls placed, a 10.8 increase over the month before.

Beaman, Iowa, notched the month's biggest percentage increase in outbound robocalls of any city, jumping up 183.1% to 514,600 robocalls placed. Other cities that marked big increases in outbound robocalls included St. Cloud, Minn. (up 136.8% month-on-month); Sharpsburg, Kentucky (up 127.3%); Victorville, Calif. (up 119.0%) and Rockford, Illinois (up 80.9%).

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.