U.S. Consumers Received Just Under 4.5 Billion Robocalls in August, According to YouMail Robocall Index

Robocalls Continue at a Lower Rate in 2024 than 2023

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. consumers received just under 4.5 billion robocalls in August, which represents a 3.8% increase from July and a 12.2% decrease over August 2023. In addition, for the first eight months of this year, there have been 34.3 billion robocalls, down just over 9% from the 37.9 billion robocalls seen through August 2023.

August averaged 143.8 million robocalls/day and 1,664 robocalls/second, up 3.8% from July's average of 138.6 million robocalls/day and 1,604 robocalls/second.

"Robocall volume in 2024 has essentially remained flat at levels approaching 10% lower than 2023," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "The real question now is how to drive these volumes even lower."

These latest figures are provided by YouMail, a totally free robocall blocking app and call protection service for mobile phones. The figures are determined by extrapolating from the robocall traffic attempting to get through to YouMail's millions of active users.

Scam Calls Decreased Slightly in August, while Telemarketing Calls Increased Significantly

This month saw a small 3.4% decline in scam calls and a 6.6% decline in payment reminders. In contrast, this month saw a large 11% increase in Telemarketing calls, while Notifications calls increased 6.7%.

Together, scam calls and telemarketing calls now represent over 2.3 billion robocalls/month, slightly more than half of all robocalls. Scam calls continue to be running at levels slightly lower than a year ago, and substantially lower than previous years.

August 2024's Most Annoying Robocalling Campaigns

The most problematic robocall campaign in August is a campaign related to personal loans, like calls from this number.

This is Olivia calling back from First Horizon. Thank you for considering us for your financial needs. I'm happy to inform you that based on your current information, you will be qualified for a loan of up to $47,000 with monthly payments below $600. Congratulations on that. Please feel free to reach out to me directly. My phone number is 866-833-7775 to discuss your options further and thank you again for choosing First Horizon. Just like this again, my phone number is 866-833-7775.  We look forward to helping you achieve your dreams and have a wonderful day.  To opt out, call (901) 686-7001.

This call is problematic because of a high volume of calls, in the tens of millions, placed from thousands of different numbers. While they identify who they are, they do not include a toll-free number for opting out, and based on feedback from consumers, they appear to be calling people who never contact the company or asked to be called. Further, First Horizon Bank is warning consumers about potential imposters who are using their name to scam people, and these calls follow a pattern of known scam calls, just with different financial institutions, amounts, and phone numbers.

Another problematic robocall campaigns in August is a campaign related to Google Listings, like this call from this number.

Hey please do not hang up. This is ProListing Solutions trying to reach you about your Google Business listing. Our system shows your listing is not currently verified or optimized on Google. Please press 1 to speak to an agent so we can double check the status of your listing. Customers currently searching for you may not be able to find you online. Press 9 or call 424-393-1610 to opt out.

This call is problematic because of a high volume of calls, placed from over 5,000 numbers. While they identify who they are, they do not include a toll-free number for opting out, and based on feedback from consumers, appear to be calling people who never contact the company or asked to be called. Further, interaction with the callers appear to be paying for services around Google Business Listings, like verification, that Google provides for free, suggesting it is a potential scam.

The Source of This Data

These data points are provided by YouMail, a free call protection app for mobile phones. YouMail 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 protects consumers, enterprises, and carriers from harmful phone calls. YouMail provides US and UK consumers app-based call protection services through the YouMail, Another Number, and HulloMail apps. These solutions answer over a billion live calls per year from well over 20 million phone numbers, powering America's most robust telephone sensor network in identifying and providing zero-hour protection against illegal calling campaigns and cyberattacks. YouMail Protective Services leverages this sensor network to protect consumer-facing enterprises by detecting and helping shut down imposter traffic that can lead to financial or brand damage, as well as to protect carriers with robocall mitigation services that detect and help stop bad traffic originating, traversing, or terminating on their networks. This sensor network is also used to provide the  YouMail Robocall Index™ is the nation's definitive source on telephone network activity and attacks. YouMail, Inc. is privately funded and based in Irvine, California. 

Contact:

Gabriella Troiani for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE YouMail Inc.