Nearly 1,000 robocalls (986) were placed every second in the U.S. in August, an all-time high, according to the latest YouMail robocalling trends research. What the YouMail Robocall Index deems a robocalling epidemic continues to expand, increasing 9.3% since July alone.
YouMail began tracking robocalls nationwide in June 2015. The previous Robocall Index monthly record of 2.5 billion robocalls was set in March 2016. August’s total came in at a new record high of 85.2 billion, or 85.2 million robocalls per day on average, YouMail highlights in a news release.
YouMail tracks the number of calls blocked and/or reported as spam by its subscribers nationwide, which number in the millions. The algorithms it uses detect automatically dialed calls, which are then aggregated into the Robocall Index.
Regional Robocalling Trends
Texas residents received the most robocalls in the U.S. in August, a total of 298.3 million. California, Florida, New York and Georgia followed in consecutive order.
Regionally, those in southern U.S. states received the most robocalls per capita, with area codes in the region accounting for 15 of the top 20 most robocalled area codes in August.
According to YouMail, an average 7.6 robocalls per person were made across the U.S. in August. Those in Atlanta’s 404 area code topped YouMail’s list of worst-affected areas for the ninth consecutive month, receiving 40.4 robocalls per person.
Those in Washington, D.C.’s 202 area code received 33.5 robocalls per person in August. Other top 10 worst-affected area codes per capita included Baton Rouge, Louisiana; those in Los Angeles’s 225 area code (22.4 robocalls per person/month); New York’s 347 area code (20.5); Macon, Georgia’s 478 area code (20.4) and Memphis, Tennessee’s 901 area code (19.8).
Turning to where robocalls originated, California was tops among U.S. states in August, with YouMail recording 206.7 million robocalls originating in the state. That vaulted California ahead of Texas, which ranked second last month.
Among cities, robocallers in Los Angeles placed 67.7 million robocalls, enough to unseat Chicago, according to YouMail. Other popular cities for robocallers included New York City (63.9 million robocalls placed); Columbus, Ohio (60.1 million); Dallas, Texas (56.0 million) and Chicago (54.4 million).
Debt collection agencies were the single largest source of robocalls placed last month, accounting for 17 of the top 20 phone numbers from which YouMail tracked robocalls. The phone number of one national credit card company continued to place the most robocalls for the 11th consecutive month, placing some 364.5 million robocalls over the past 12 months. One bank debt collector, one retail debt collector and one student loan debt collector each own two phone numbers on YouMail’s top 20 list.
“Our national robocalling problem is spinning out of control as American consumers and businesses are being forced to regularly endure billions of calls every month, creating an ongoing source of aggravation and a major drain on national productivity,” commented YouMail CEO Alex Quilici in a press release about the robocalling trends report.
“We are encouraging consumers to fight back by joining our user community to help block the incoming numbers of spam robocallers across the country.”
