U.S. Consumers Received Just Under 4.9 Billion Robocalls in June, According to YouMail Robocall Index

Nationwide Robocall Volume Remains Near Highest Levels Since 2019

IRVINE, Calif., July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. consumers received almost 4.9 billion robocalls in June, representing a 4.4% decrease from May's volume. Despite that slight decline, there have been over 54.4 billion robocalls in the past 12 months.

June averaged 161.9 million robocalls/day and 1874 robocalls/second, down merely 1.2% from May's averages of 163.9 million robocalls/day, and 1898 robocalls/second. 

"June's volume is indicative of our new normal of nearly 5 billion robocalls per month," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "While it's clear the problem would be worse without the efforts of regulators, enforcement, and the carriers, consumers still need to protect themselves with robocall blocking apps like YouMail."

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.

Most Unwanted Robocall in June: Disability Benefit Telemarketing

June saw large numbers of telemarketing calls that appeared to be pitching adults within certain age groups to sign up for disability benefits, leaving nearly identical voicemail messages like this example:

This is Kelly with the National Disability Group. Please listen carefully. We are calling because you are eligible for a disability benefit of over $2600. These are your age being between 50 and 63. We show you're likely to qualify. To speak with a benefit specialist. Simply press one once again to speak with a benefit specialist about enrolling in order to gain access to this $2600 benefit press one otherwise simply press two to be added to our do not call list. You can also call 205-947-0541 to speak to a specialist as well.

In June, there were in the tens of millions of these calls, which came from over ten thousand different numbers. Further, this call appeared to be violating various telemarketing regulations, as well as calling countless people who did not give prior consent and do not have any business relationship with this firm, including consumers who are not in the correct age group for their promotion. Unlike many similar campaigns, these calls included a callback number versus relying on asking users to press a key. 

June's Unwanted Call Volume Was Down Significantly

Americans received just over 2 billion unwanted scam and telemarketing calls in June, down nearly 10% from May. This was primarily driven by a 10% decrease in telemarketing calls and helped by a nearly 6% decrease in scam calls. Notifications were down slightly, while payment reminders also increased slightly for the month.

Some calls initially viewed as telemarketing are eventually identified as illegal telemarketing or scam calls, so it's important to measure the overall quantity of scam and spam calls combined. A scam call is one that contains clearly illegal or fraudulent behavior, such as a call from an enterprise imposter, or one that has a spoofed caller ID. Stir/Shaken continues to reduce the number of robocall campaigns based on spoofed IDs, which drives down the number of obvious scam calls by making them harder to detect, since they appear to be telemarketing campaigns unless there is other evidence of fraud. 

"Winners" in June 2023

The top cities, area codes, and states with the most robocalls and robocalls/person remained mostly unchanged from May. 

The one exception is Atlanta's 678 area code, which traded places with Dallas's 214 area code for 3^rd most robocalled area code, giving the Atlanta area two of the top three area codes by volume.

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 across well over 10 million registered users, 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:

Rohan Notaney for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE YouMail, Inc.