The latest robocall index from YouMail, a call-blocking services company, shows its latest nationwide robocall data, and the statistics are pretty astounding. YouMail says Americans received nearly 3.8 billion robocalls in February 2022.
Although this was a decrease compared to January, You Mail says that's just because February is the shortest month. Averaged out to calls per day, a news release from the company says the volume of calls actually rose more than 6% over January.
How Many Robocalls Has the United States Received Lately?
As a snapshot, here are the statistics from YouMail’s Robocall Index for February 2022:
- 134.3 million calls per day
- 5.6 million calls per hour
- 1,600 calls per second
It appears that robocallers like some locations more than others. Let’s take a look at YouMail’s statistics for the metropolitan areas with the most robocalls in February 2022.
Robocallers Targeted These Cities the Most in February 2022
| Metro Areas | Estimated Calls Received |
|---|---|
| 1. Atlanta | 149,817,800 |
| 2. Dallas | 142,256,400 |
| 3. Chicago | 119,568,700 |
| 4. Houston | 112,592,100 |
| 5. New York | 105,237,000 |
| 6. Los Angeles | 102,182,500 |
| 7. Phoenix | 76,362,100 |
| 8. Baltimore | 68,737,300 |
| 9. Newark | 59,684,700 |
| 10. San Francisco Bay Area | 59,027,700 |
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Take a deep dive into YouMail’s February 2022 robocall data.
3 Ways To Stop Unwanted Calls
Robocalls aren't just an annoying waste of time. Many crooks use robocalls to scam you out of your money. Here are three ways you can stop those robocalls or any unwanted calls.
1. Don’t Know the Number? Don’t Answer
Money expert Clark Howard has a strategy to prevent getting scammed.
“It’s a simple rule. If I don’t recognize the number as being from someone I know, I do not answer the call.”
2. Use Your Phone’s Call-Blocking Features
Many of today’s phones from Apple and Android have call-blocking features that you may not know about. Use them!
How To Block a Caller on an iPhone:
- Open the phone app.
- Tap on Recents.
- Tap the Info button next to the phone number you want to block.
- Scroll down and tap Block this Caller.
Here's iPhone's call-blocking guide.
How To Block a Caller on an Android Phone:
The following steps work for Android phones with Android 6.0 and up.
- Open your Phone app
- Tap the number you want to block.
- Tap Block / report spam.
3. Use Call-Blocking Tools and Apps
I use the YouMail app to screen calls for scammers and other nuisances. Read the Team Clark review of YouMail here.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says, "Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls."
The major cell phone carriers provide anti-junk call initiatives to cut down on nuisance calls to their customers. Here are a few:
- AT&T — Call Protect The call-blocking service comes as a free tool as well as version with more features for $3.99 a month. Available for Android and iOS.
- T-Mobile Scam Shield: This free app is available to T-Mobile postpaid customers: Android and iOS.
- Verizon Call Filter: This free app lets you screen incoming calls. There's also a Plus version for $2.99 a month: Android and iOS.
If you want to learn more, read up on how to stop robocalls for good.
More Cell Phone Resources From Clark.com:
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