Americans Beleaguered by Nearly 15 Billion Robocalls in First Half of 2017

IRVINE, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans were overwhelmed by 2.53 million robocalls in June, a 6.6% increase over the same month one year ago, raising the aggregate total to 14.6 billion robocalls received across the U.S. in the first six months of 2017.

The 2.53 billion calls in June equaled 84.3 calls received nationwide per day, or roughly 976 robocalls for every second of the month.

These estimates come from YouMail, a free service that has helped consumers stop over 500 million robocalls in the past year. YouMail compiles the scope and location of the worst robocalling hotspots across the country by area code in the YouMail Robocall Index™. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cited statistics from the YouMail Robocall Index as a definitive source for national data trends, just as more consumers are downloading the YouMail app to safeguard their mobile phones.

"Automated robo-dialing systems make the economics very cheap to quickly place thousands or even millions of robocalls, causing robocalls to flood almost every area code and region in the country," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "Americans are starting to fight back against this national epidemic by adopting new robo-blocking solutions and urging their public officials to increase consumer protections."

Inbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from June

In June, nearly half (48%) of the 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America were based in Southern states, part of an ongoing pattern in which Southerners continues to bear the largest brunt of robocalling. Atlanta topped the national list as the Most Robocalled City for the 19^th straight month, notching 113.6 million robocalls in June.

The nearby city of Augusta, Georgia, recorded the biggest monthly increase in robocalling volumes for June, rising 5% over May to 22.3 million calls received, ranking it as the 23^rd Most Robocalled City.

Texas received the most robocalls of any state for the 13^th straight month, with 300.1 million robocalls in June. This marks just the second time that any state has recorded more than 300 million calls in a single month, after Texas received 307.4 million calls in the previous month of May.

Texas also was home to five of the 20 Most Robocalled Area Codes in June, including Houston area codes 832, 281 and 713, and Dallas area codes 214 and 817. In addition, four Georgia area codes made the Top 20 List, including Atlanta area codes 404, 678 and 770, and Augusta area code 706.

Alaska posted the biggest month-on-month increase in robocalls of any state at 67.8%, followed by Massachusetts (22.1%), North Dakota (7.6%), Maine (4.9%) and Oklahoma (3.3%). This marks the third straight month in which Alaska recorded the largest monthly gains of any state, highlighting that living in rural areas is no longer a safe hideaway from getting robocalls.

Outbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from June

Continuing an ongoing trend, the large majority of the Top 20 Robocalling Numbers in June (18 of 20) were made by debt collectors, including debts for credit card firms, banks, cable TV companies and retailers. One national credit card company held onto the most active robocalling number in the country for the 22^nd straight month, with more than 32.3 million calls placed in June alone. This single robocalling number has placed nearly 600 million robocalls over the past 22 months.

Los Angeles retained the top spot as the city generating the most outbound robocalls, with 70.9 million calls placed in June. Columbus, Ohio, ranked #8 on the list in June, with a 19.9% monthly increase over May to 43.8 million calls placed. Kansas City generated 33% more monthly robocalls in June, placing 20.9 million calls to rank #20 on the Top 20 Cities Most-Prolific Robocalling Cities list.

Alaska marked the biggest percentage increase in robocall production of any state for the third straight month, increasing 157% in June, followed by Rhode Island (up 68%), Mississippi (up 62%), North Dakota (up 56%) and Hawaii (up 54%).

Some surprising cities posted the biggest monthly percentage increases in outbound robocalls, as the robocall epidemic spreads to more and more rural areas and robocallers use local numbers to make their calls. They included #1 Valparaiso, Indiana, which rose 378.7% in the month; followed by Deerton, Michigan (up 369%); South Bend, Indiana (up 225%); Danvers, Massachusetts (up 196.9%); and Anchorage, Alaska (156.9%).

For more information about the YouMail Robocall Index or to view the latest report, please visit: http://robocallindex.com. To join the YouMail Robocall Index mailing list, please write to: [email protected].

About YouMail, Inc.

YouMail, Inc. is the leading provider of intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. The company's flagship service provides an automated virtual receptionist that replaces the subscriber's voicemail on iPhone, Android, and Windows phones. This service stops robocalls, provides free conference calls, and delights callers by instantly greeting, routing, and responding to callers, personally and memorably. YouMail also provides data on problematic phone number behavior, through a reverse phone lookup service that allows anyone to identify and comment on suspicious numbers, an application program interface (API) that any telecom service provider or third-party developer can use to determine whether a number is problematic, and the  YouMail Robocall Index™, which since its launch in in September 2015 has emerged as the nation's definitive source on robocalling data for telecom carriers, smartphone and app companies, and public policymakers. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., YouMail, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is privately funded.

Contact:
Matt Russell for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected] 
646-741-8359

SOURCE YouMail, Inc.