Scam Calls to Mobile Phones Quadruple in Two Years

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First Orion, provider of data and phone call transparency solutions, today announced the results of a new study* that shows a significant spike in spam and fraudulent calls compared to the same study two years ago.

Roughly 80 million unwanted calls ranging from scammers to telemarketers are made each day. To better understand the kinds of calls that continue to bombard consumers, First Orion surveyed 1,000 U.S mobile phone users and found spam and fraudulent calls have increased drastically over the last two years.

Over three-quarters of those surveyed had received a scam call, up 15 percent from 2015. While the number of people receiving calls is rising, the volume is skyrocketing. Four times as many people received over 20 scam calls in the past six months compared to 2015.

Growing frustrations over unwanted and fraudulent calls led the FCC to create the Robocall Strike Force to provide consumers with free tools to block these annoying calls.

"While the FCC Strike Force focused heavily on the carriers to solve this problem, it became evident the industries delivering legal calls will need to consider call blocking and labeling," said Rebekah Johnson, Industry Robocall Coalition Leader. "They cannot ignore the carrier changes and will need to dive deeper into call strategies including consumer response at the network level and informing consumers who they are and why they are calling."

Other interesting facts include:

• Over 55 percent of respondents have received a scam call within the past month
• Almost 60 percent of consumers would be willing to pay monthly for a service that would identify callers, block spam and fraudulent calls as well as tell why they are calling compared to just 17 percent in 2015
• Over half of those surveyed believe it is their cell phone carrier's responsibility to block scam and fraudulent calls or texts from coming to their phone
• Roughly three fourths of respondents said they would be more inclined to use a cell phone carrier that automatically blocked telemarketing and scam calls

"Providing caller transparency is the most efficient way to stop scammers in their tracks," said Jeff Stalnaker, President of First Orion. "Our mission, which is underway, is 20/20 vision on all calls by the year 2020 through our CallerYD product using patented data and technology solutions to provide transparency for all incoming phone calls for all consumers."

In addition to providing PrivacyStar applications for Android and iOS users, First Orion offers FONES for carriers and service providers to deliver the highest level of confidence and flexibility in protecting subscribers from scams and other unwanted calls. FONES enables carriers to easily and seamlessly deploy settings to protect all customers from identified malicious callers, such as known scammers that use robocalling.

About First Orion

First Orion provides data and phone call transparency solutions across multiple platforms, world-class data solutions, in-network call control and its PrivacyStar powered application solutions. First Orion Network Enterprise Solutions (FONES) currently provides call control, call blocking, call transparency and call management solutions to millions of mobile handsets. With branded and white-labeled applications as well as in-network solutions, First Orion assists mobile carriers in protecting mobile subscribers from unwanted or unknown calls, including Scammers, robocalls and Telemarketers. First Orion is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas with offices in Seattle, Dallas and London. For regular updates, please visit www.FirstOrion.com.

* First Orion surveyed 1,000 mobile phone users in the United States

PrivacyStar and First Orion are registered trademarks of First Orion Corp. All registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

Media Contact: 
Jackie Eicholz
First Orion
831.401.3175
[email protected]

SOURCE First Orion

Related Links

http://www.FirstOrion.com