Robocalls Continue to Creep Back Upwards After Declining Under the Spring Quarantine
Americans received just under 3.7 billion robocalls in August, an approximately 1% increase from July. In August, robocalls averaged 118.3 million calls / day or roughly 1,370 calls / second, up from 117.1 million calls / day and 1,356 calls / second in July. There have been just over 30.1 billion robocalls so far in the first 8 months of the year, averaging 3.8 billion / month, or 18% lower than the 2019 average of 4.9 billion robocalls/month.
These latest monthly figures come from YouMail, a robocall blocking app and call protection service for mobile phones.
“Robocalls grew at a surprisingly low rate in August, despite economies continuing to reopen,” said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. “While we would love for this slow rate of growth to continue, we expect this is just a pleasant hiccup as robocalls continue a steady rise.”
Robocall Categories Were Similar in August
The breakdown of categories was similar in August compared to July. Scams and telemarketing together remained a big headache, with roughly 2.2 billion calls between them, and nearly 60% of the month’s total robocall volume.
| Type | # Robocalls | % Robocalls |
|---|---|---|
| Scams | 1.7 B (+0%) | 46% (+0%) |
| Alerts and Reminders | .95 B(+5%) | 26% (+1%) |
| Payment Reminders | .54 B (-3%) | 15% (-1%) |
| Telemarketing | .49 B (-3%) | 13% (+0%) |
Top Illegal Robocalls in August 2020
In August, Car Warranty Scam calls remained the most frequently made illegal robocall for the second consecutive month, while Medical Scams continued to represent the next most frequent category of illegal robocalls.
| Rank | Type | # Robocalls | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warranty Scams | 211.8 M | Scam payments / illegal solicitations |
| 2 | Health-Related Scams | 204.0 M | Identity theft / scam payments / illegal solicitations |
“Winners” in August 2020
The cities, area codes and states with the highest volumes of robocalls in August were similar to what we’ve seen the past few months. The main changes are that Washington DC is now the city getting the most robocalls/person, wresting that title from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
| Most robocalls - city | Atlanta, GA (147 million) |
| Most per person - city | Washington, D.C. (33.7 / person) |
| Most robocalls - area code | 404 - Atlanta, GA (62.7 M) |
| Most per person - area code | 404 - Atlanta, GA (51.3 / person) |
| Most robocalls - state | Texas (411.8 million) |
| Most per person - state | Louisiana (21.1) |
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#Robocalls