U.S. Blasted by 2.3 Billion Robocalls in January as Call Volumes Stabilize

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American consumers and business owners were blasted by an estimated 2.3 billion robocalls in January, a 3% decrease over the total calls received in December but a slight increase over the same month last year. These estimates are based on the YouMail Robocall Index™, the nation's first comprehensive guide that compiles the scope and location of the worst robocalling hotspots across the country by area code.

January marked the fifth straight month that the nation's robocall volume has fallen slightly month-over-month. The country's monthly robocalling total has dropped by 14.4% over the past half-year since August 2016 – a potential sign that the robocalling trend may be stabilizing due to a growing consumer backlash and the adoption of more robo-blocking services.

YouMail provides iPhone and Android apps that serve as an automated virtual assistant to replace the mobile voicemail service of its users. The YouMail service has answered billions of calls for its users, providing a wealth of data on the bad behavior of robocallers. YouMail uses algorithms to detect any automatically dialed calls, blocks them by playing an "out of service" message, and then aggregates that calling data to create the YouMail Robocall Index™.

"YouMail is encouraged that overall robocalling volumes seem to be stabilizing due to growing public awareness of robo-blocking solutions, but our country is still grappling with billions and billions of automated calls every month of the year," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "2.3 billion robocalls in a month means 73 million robocalls per day, or 845 robocalls placed every second. Regulators, carriers and software makers all need to step up by implementing stronger protections for the American people."

Inbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from January

Atlanta topped the YouMail 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America™ list for the 14^th straight month, with more than 100.7 million calls received in January. In addition, three Atlanta area codes ranked in the 20 Most Robocalled Area Codes for January. Atlanta area code 404 topped the list with 47.5 million calls received. Three Houston area codes also made the Most Robocalled Area Codes list at #2, #13 and #15. Five of the 20 Most Robocalled Area Codes were based in Texas in January, marking the eighth straight month that Texas has received the most robocalls of any state.

Camden, NJ, jumped up 11 spots on the Top 50 Cities list to #23, with 19 million calls received. Shreveport, La., was another big gainer, moving up 12 spots to #41 with 16.4 million calls received in January.

However, the Top 50 Cities list also included 37 cities that posted month-on-month declines for robocall volumes. Cleveland had the biggest month-on-month drop, falling 12% in January to #25 with 18.8 million calls received. Denver and Phoenix each had an 8% decrease in robocalls, month-on-month.

Outbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from January

Dallas unseated Los Angeles to become America's most prolific robocalling city in January, with an estimated 64.9 million calls made, compared to 60.1 million made by L.A.-based auto-dialers. Robocalling lines in Chicago and Houston also placed more than 50 million robocalls each in January.

California topped the list of states making the most robocalls, with 189.4 million calls placed in January, followed by Texas (182.9 million), Florida (113.3 million) and New York (107.4 million). Illinois posted the biggest rise in robocall output, increasing by 29.3% month-on-month, followed by New Jersey (27.9 %), Tennessee (15.2%) and Kentucky (13.1%). 

Debt collections comprised the bulk of calling types in January, with debt collectors from banks, retailers, cable companies and student loans making up 16 of the top 20 robocalling lines. One national credit card company has continued to dominate as the nation's most active robocalling phone number for 17 consecutive months. This one phone number has placed roughly 466.4 million calls in that span, including 20.2 million calls made in January.

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.