This Leap Year, it seems robocallers were the ones leaping to prey on more US phones. During the month of February, YouMail’s National Robocall Index™ reported an estimated 2.3 billion robocalls were placed to U.S. phones. The data, which is the same number of robocalls placed in January although with 2 fewer days, proves that US consumers are continually being harassed by illegal spam calls and there is no sign that they will get a break anytime soon.
YouMail’s National Robocall Index™ highlights top robocalling phone numbers, most robocalled cities, and most common types of robocalls in the United States each month.
The Breakdown:
February’s robocall report shows that for the third straight month, Atlanta was by far the most robocalled city in the U.S., with an estimated 99.5 million calls received in area codes (404) and (678). Other locations included in the “Top 5 Most Robocalled Cities in America” were Houston (60.9 million calls received), Dallas (52.6 million) and New York City (49.2 million).
Atlanta area code (404) also took first place in the Top 20 Most Affected Area Codes with an average of 45.4 million robocalls received during February.
Most Prominent Robocalls Nationwide:
As for most pervasive types of robocalls placed – bank debt collectors and retail debt collectors were the most common types of robocalls in YouMail’s list of the Top 20 Robocallers Nationwide (by volume). This is a change from last month’s data which highlighted presidential campaigns as being the most complained-about type of robocall. Other robocall types making the cut for the Top 20 include Student Loan Collectors, Phone and Cable Debt Collectors, and Mortgage Lenders.
What This Means for You:
Could robocalls be slowing down with lower numbers recorded in February for the “Top 5 Most Robocalled Cities in America” than in January? Unfortunately, no. Robocalls can target new victims in a matter of seconds. Many scammers go after tens of thousands of different consumers every day using a variety of techniques. From spoofing phone numbers (hiding their real number behind the disguise of a local number) to selling their call lists to other robocallers – there really is no current way for phone users to detect incoming calls and block them without the help of a smarter aid.
Spammers Continue to Rise Creating Desperate Need for Robocall Blocking:
YouMail is an automated secretary for your phone that provides multiple foolproof methods of eliminating telemarketers. The service works on iOS, Android, and landline phones. YouMail blocks unwanted callers including spammers, telemarketers and robocallers for good through Smart Blocking, which identifies spam numbers and blocks them for all YouMail customers. YouMail also works to keep members informed of the growing robocall problem by publishing a monthly Robocall Index, which reports trends of the top spammers in the nation. Through Smart Blocking and The Robocall Index, as well as other visual voicemail tools, YouMail is able to help consumers and small business owners be more productive and save time through better managing their calls.
For more information about the YouMail Robocall Index or to view the latest report, please visit: http://www.youmail.com/phone-lookup/robocall-index. To join the YouMail Robocall Index mailing list, please write to: [email protected].