IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 4, 2021 — Americans received just under 4.1 billion robocalls in October, a 3.1% increase in volume over September. However, in October robocalls averaged 132.0 million calls/day and 1,528 calls/second, down slightly from September, when robocalls averaged 135.3 million calls/day and 1,556 calls/second.
Americans have received 42.8 billion robocalls so far this year, averaging just under 4.3 billion robocalls/month, putting the country on a pace to hit roughly 51 billion robocalls for the year. However, since STIR/SHAKEN and new federal robocall mitigation rules took effect on June 30, robocalls are down about 8%/month on average.
These latest monthly figures are provided by YouMail, a totally free robocall blocking app and call protection service for mobile phones. These figures are determined by extrapolating from the robocall traffic attempting to get through to YouMail’s millions of active users.
“We appear to be at a new, lower plateau on monthly robocalls since the STIR/SHAKEN rollout on June 30th,” said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. “However, we are still on pace for over 50 billion robocalls this year, showing there is still considerable work to do.”
October 2021 Saw a Slight Decline in Spam Calls
In October the number of scam calls decreased by 2%, and telemarketing calls declined by 8%, but together they still added up to almost 2.3 billion calls.
| Type of Robocall | Estimated October Robocalls | Percentage October R obocalls |
| Scams | 1.5 billion (flat) | 36% (-2%) |
| Alerts and Reminders | 1.2 billion (+7%) | 29% (+1%) |
| Payment Reminders | 0.65 billion (+7%) | 16% (+1%) |
| Telemarketing | 0.8 billion (+5%) | 19% (flat) |
“Winners” in October 2021
In October, the cities, states, and area codes that had highest volumes of robocalls were little changed versus September. Interestingly, there were three cities averaging roughly 1 robocall/day/person or more: Memphis, Baton Rouge, and Washington, DC. And there are 5 states that are getting more than 20 robocalls/person each month, all in the south: Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
In addition, there are three area codes affected with over 50 million robocalls/month: Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. And there are three states getting over 300 million robocalls/month: Texas, California, and Florida.
| Cities with the Most Robocalls: | Atlanta, GA (156.4 million, +2%) Dallas, TX (138.7 million, flat) |
| Cities with the Most Robocalls/Person: | Memphis, TN (33.4/person, +6%) Baton Rouge, LA (32.9/person +17%) Washington, DC (30.1/person, flat) |
| Area Codes with the Most Robocalls: | 404 in Atlanta, GA (67.6 million, +3%) 214 in Dallas, TX (53.0 million, -1%) 832 in Houston, TX (50.7 million, +6%) |
| Area Codes with the Most Robocalls/Person: | 404 in Atlanta, GA (55.3/person, +3%) 901 in Memphis, TN (33.4/person, +6%) 225 in Baton Rouge, LA (32.9, +17%) 202 in Washington, DC (30.2, +0%) |
| State with the Most Robocalls: | Texas (460.6 million, flat) California (404.6 million, -1%) Florida (333.1m, -6%) |
| State with the Most Robocalls/Person: | Tennessee (24,0/person, flat) South Carolina (22.7/person, -6%) Alabama (22.2/person, +2%) Louisiana (21.9/person, +2%) Arkansas (20.1/person, -1%) |
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 protects consumers, enterprises, and carriers from harmful phone calls. YouMail protects consumers with app-based call protection services. YouMail protects consumer-facing enterprises by detecting and helping to shut down imposter traffic that can lead to financial or brand damage. We protect carriers with robocall mitigation services that detect when bad traffic is originating, traversing, or terminating on their networks. Our direct consumer solutions answer over a billion live calls per year across well over 10 million registered users, powering America’s most robust telephone sensor network in identifying and providing zero-hour protection against illegal calling campaigns and cyberattacks. We also operate the YouMail Robocall Index™, the nation’s definitive source on telephone network activity and attacks. YouMail, Inc. is privately funded and based in Irvine, California.
