Monthly Robocalls Jump 5% in May to 2.6 Billion Calls Received Nationwide

Annoyed Consumers Adopting Solutions Such as YouMail To Block Robocalls

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Jun 08, 2017, 09:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans were besieged by 2.6 billion robocalls in May, a 4.9% increase over April and the third straight month that the national robocall volume has increased, marking the second highest monthly volume of robocalls in the past 12 months.

The monthly U.S. calling total for May equals an estimated 84.6 million robocalls received each day during the month, or roughly 980 robocalls placed every second of the month.

These estimates come from YouMail, a free service that helps consumers block robocallers, and that has stopped 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.

"Despite growing public awareness about this problem, the robocallers continue to bombard the American people with all kinds of unwanted calls," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "It's important for consumers to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves from frustrating robocalls which continue to invade our family lives and drain our workforce productivity."

Inbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from May

Atlanta continued to dominate the list of the 50 Most Robocalled Cities in May for the 18^th straight month, notching an estimated 116.4 million calls received, or a 6% increase over the city's total for April. Other big cities in the Top 5 included Dallas (98.2 million), Chicago (96.3 million), New York (95.1 million) and Houston (93.3 million).

For the first time since the launch of the Robocall Index, six area codes in Texas made the list of the 20 Most Robocalled Area Codes, including area codes 832, 214, 817, 713, 210 and 281. In addition, three Houston area codes and three Atlanta area codes each made the Top 20 List.

Texas experienced a 7% statewide monthly increase in robocalls with 307.4 million calls received, marking the first time that any state has received more than 300 million robocalls in a single month since YouMail launched the Robocall Index in 2015.

San Antonio, Texas recorded a 16% increase in monthly calling volumes, ranking 23rd nationwide based on 23.0 million robocalls received.

Other states posting sizable monthly calling gains in May included Alaska (up 28.5%), Maine (19.2%), South Dakota (19.0%), New Mexico (18.9%) and Hawaii (9.4%).

Outbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from May

Los Angeles reclaimed its top spot as the city generating the most robocalls in May, increasing outbound calls by 28.1% over April to 81.6 million calls placed. Other major cities posting big increases in outbound robocalls included Phoenix, which rose 37.1% to rank #4 with 58.3 million calls made; and San Diego, which rose 19.0% to rank #16 with 26.1 million calls made.

Many other smaller cities recorded huge gains in outbound robocall volumes during May. They included Southfield, Michigan (up 413.3%); Beaman, Iowa (367.6%); Deerton, Michigan (291.9%); Columbia, Missouri (224.5%); and Laredo, Texas (180.6%).

As part of an ongoing pattern, the large majority of robocallers were focused on debt collections, with 17 of the Top 20 robocallers seeking to collect debts for credit cards, banks, cable companies and retailers. One national credit card company has held onto the most active robocalling number in the nation for 21 consecutive months. That credit card debt collector more than doubled the second most prolific number by placing more than 30.8 million calls in May.

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.