2.9 Billion Robocalls in April Mark 30% Monthly Decline, Says YouMail Robocall Index
Coronavirus Effects Slowing the Pace of Robocalls To Half Their October High
IRVINE, Calif., May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans received just under 2.9 billion robocalls in April, a 30% decline from March. The month of April averaged over 95 million calls per day, or roughly 1,104 calls per second, a whopping 44% decline from the 172 million robocalls per day in February. April robocalls were almost 50% lower than last October's monthly peak of 5.7 billion calls.
These latest monthly figures come from YouMail, a totally free robocall blocking app for mobile phones.
"April's massive decline in robocalls shows that COVID-19 is accomplishing what government, technology, and regulation couldn't," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "However, as social distancing slows down and the economies rev back up, we should expect robocalls to once again increase."
April Saw Big Decreases in Both Legal and Illegal Robocalls
April saw all categories of alerts decline significantly. The decline in Alerts and Reminders was likely due to less need for alerts and reminders about the lockdown than when they were first invoked in March. The declines in other categories likely continue to be due to the unavailability of depleted call centers to handle people who return calls or "press 1" when called.
Type of Robocall |
Estimated April Robocalls |
Percentage April |
Scams |
1.3 billion (-21%) |
45% |
Alerts and Reminders |
.80 billion (-27%) |
28% |
Payment Reminders |
.44 billion (-36%) |
16% |
Telemarketing |
.32 billion (-52%) |
11% |
Top Illegal Robocalls in April 2020
April saw a big decrease in most types of spam calls. Only two types of illegal calls exceeded 100 million calls for the month: Medical Scams and Car Warranty Scams.
Rank |
Type of Scam |
Estimated March Robocalls |
Summary of Scam |
1 |
Health-Related Scams |
257.0 million |
Identity theft/scam payments/illegal solicitations |
2 |
Warranty Scams |
135.8 million |
Scam payments |
"Winners" in April 2020
The cities, area codes and states with the highest volumes of robocalls in April were similar to past months, though each experienced very significant declines in volume. One exception was South Carolina emerging as the state with the most robocalls per person, passing Louisiana for the first time.
City with the Most Robocalls: |
Atlanta, GA (120.0 million, -28%) |
City with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
Washington, DC (27/person, -37%) |
Area Code with the Most Robocalls: |
404 in Atlanta, GA (48.5 million, -29%) |
Area Code with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
404 in Atlanta, GA (40/person, -29%) |
State with the Most Robocalls: |
Texas (330 million, -26%) |
State with the Most Robocalls/Person: |
South Carolina (16.6/person, -30%) |
These data are provided by YouMail, a free call protection app for mobile phones. YouMail recently won the American Business Awards' Gold Stevie Award for Technical Innovation of the Year, and the YouMail app was named the nation's best robocall-blocking solution in a competition organized by Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post.
YouMail blocks unwanted robocallers by making sure the user's phone doesn't ring, and then plays an out-of-service message that leads them to think they dialed an invalid number. YouMail identifies problematic numbers and robocalls using a combination of its recently patented audio fingerprinting technology, call patterns, and consumer feedback.
YouMail provides the YouMail Robocall Index to estimate robocall volume across the country and for specific area codes every month. This estimate is formed by extrapolating from the behavior of the billions of calls YouMail has handled for its users, and these statistics are regularly cited by the FCC as a definitive source for national data trends.
For a full ranking of cities, states and area codes, as well as details on the behavior of robocallers in each area code, please see http://robocallindex.com. To listen to actual voice messages left by robocallers, please visit the YouMail Directory. To join the YouMail Robocall Index mailing list, please write to [email protected].
About YouMail, Inc.
YouMail, Inc. provides imaginative, intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. These include its free app-based service to block robocalls, and its premium call management services for people who use their mobile phones for business. YouMail's services free users from limitations of their mobile phone or carrier – protecting against unwanted calls, helping them handle high volumes of mobile calls, unifying virtual numbers with their cell number, and providing personalized answering experiences for their callers. YouMail has stopped over a billion robocalls, has given hundreds of millions of callers the experience they deserve, and has delighted millions of users. The YouMail Robocall Index™, 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:
Rohan Notaney for YouMail
Lumina Communications
[email protected]
650-814-9651
SOURCE YouMail, Inc.
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