21+ Robocall Stats You Should Keep In Mind in 2023

Updated · Mar 06, 2023

Robocalls are pre-recorded phone call messages delivered through a computerized autodialer.

Their legitimate usages include telemarketing campaign messages and official announcements. However, they also offer the perfect means for spam calls or scams.

What is the point of robocalls? How to recognize a fraudulent robocall? How frequent are such scams? Where do they come from?

Read our list of fascinating robocall stats below to find the answers to these and other questions.

Robocall Facts That Will Surprise You (Editor’s Choice)

  • Nearly 2,700 robocalls are made per second.
  • There were more than seven billion robocalls in the US in November 2021.
  • 89% of senior US citizens have received at least one robocall per week in 2021.
  • Over 56% of US seniors receive a minimum of seven robocalls each week.
  • Every person with a phone gets 28 robocalls and texts per month on average.
  • Of all calls made in 2020, 40% were a scam.
  • In 2020, more than 50 million US residents lost money in a phone scam.
  • In May 2020, US citizens lost over $13.4 million to COVID-19-related robocalls.

Now, let’s look at these and other robocall stats for 2021 in more detail.

Robocall Statistics In 2021

How many robocalls are made in a day?

What effects did the pandemic have on the robocalling business?

How much money do people lose to fraudulent calls?

Read our list of stats below to find out.

1. 228 million robocalls were made per day in 2021.

(Source: RoboKiller)

Spam calls have been on the rise in 2021.

November recorded the highest number of robocalls in the US—more than seven billion in total.

This makes over 1.6 billion calls per week and 228,030,849 per day.

2. Robocalls returned to pre-pandemic levels at the beginning of 2021.

(Source: Fortune)

Robocall stats officially hit their pre-pandemic levels in February 2021. The number of robocalls dropped to three billion in April 2020 with the deepening COVID-19 crisis.

However, companies and scammers quickly gained their confidence back.

Gradually, robocalls reached their pre-pandemic levels with over four billion calls in February 2021.

3. Robocalls doubled from January to November 2021.

(Source: Threatpost)

T-Mobile phone call stats show 2.5 billion scam call attempts in November 2021 alone.

According to T-Mobile, US scammers call people during working hours, faking business calls. They are trying to rob their victims by offering fake warranties, insurances, and others of the sort.

4. Scammers can now spoof area codes.

(Source: WNDU)

The pandemic affected everyone—including fraudsters. Naturally, in an attempt to make more money, scammers started making more calls.

They also became more creative, spoofing area codes and numbers and impersonating employees from renowned businesses.

5. 34% of all calls in 2020 were fraudulent robocalls.

(Source: Truecaller)

The US saw a 56% increase in spam robocalls in 2020.

Although they decreased significantly in April, by September, they have already surpassed the January numbers.

6. The average duration of a spam call in 2019 was 45 seconds.

(Source: Businesswire)

2019 robocall statistics revealed that the average length of spam calls was 45 seconds. Meanwhile, unidentified calls lasted 30 seconds on average.

In comparison, the typical duration of identified calls from businesses was two minutes and 58 seconds.

Lastly, the ones from a user’s contact list lasted the longest—five minutes and 28 seconds.

7. One of three victims of robocall frauds answered the call because the number was familiar.

(Source: FirstOrion)

Most people don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. This forced scammers to adopt a new strategy.

They started impersonating legitimate businesses by spoofing their number to gain the recipient’s trust. This is known as “enterprise spoofing.”

8. The average person lost $244 to scam calls in 2019.

(Source: Truecaller)

Robocall stats reveal that this number increased by 44% from 2019 to 2020. It reached $351 per person.

9.  Loses due to fraudulent robocalls are expected to increase in 2022.

(Source: JUNIPER Research)

The money lost to robocall scams in 2021 globally is estimated at $31 billion.

Analysts expect a large increase in that number. It is thought that fraudulent robocalls will cost $40 billion globally in 2022.

(Source: Kaspersky)

Not all robocalls are scams. In the US, robocalling is legal in the following cases:

  • informational messages (e.g., about medical appointments)
  • debt collection calls
  • healthcare provider calls
  • messages from charities

11. The average cost of scammy robocalls in mid-2021 was $1,200.

(Source: RoboKiller)

Scammers have managed to use the pandemic and people’s fear to maximize their own profits.

As a result, the cost victims paid per scam increased by 20% compared to 2019.

12. The average cost of a call blocker is highly accessible.

(Source: Mashable)

Most applications blocking robocalls are accessible and don’t require much phone storage.

Here are some of the most popular robocall blockers and their monthly fees:

  • Hiya: free basic services
  • Nomorobo: $1.99 per month
  • RoboKiller: $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year
  • YouMail: free basic services and VIP plans starting at $7.99 per month
  • Truecaller: free basic services and premium plans starting at $4.49 per month
  •  TrapCall: $5.99 per month

13. Scam calls are a leading consumer complaint.

(Source: T-Mobile)

According to T-Mobile robocall statistics, 2021 saw a 116% increase in scam attempts.

As of early December 2021, scam calls are the number one consumer complaint to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

14. Some US areas are more scammed than others.

(Source: T-Mobile)

The highest level of scam calls is reported in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia.

The most frequently targeted area codes in the US in 2021 were 214, 832, 210, and 817 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

15. Three of the five most common scams in 2021 involve phone fraud.

(Source: Western Bank)

According to the FCC, the most common scam in 2021 is phishing. It includes fraudulent emails and text messages, as well fake invoices and spoofs of big companies.

The next three most common scams in 2021 involve telephone fraud. These include fake government agency scams, tech support scams, and other phone scams.

Scammers grab the victims’ attention by announcing fake lottery winnings, offering to fix your credit score, or asking for donations.

16. North America will account for 45% of all fraud losses in 2022.

(Source: JUNIPER Research)

It is the region with the largest number of fraudulent robocalls, although only 5% of mobile subscribers live there.

In an attempt to tackle the issue, North America is leading the battle against robocalls.

Robocall Demographics

After discussing the general robocall statistics, let’s move on to the demographic aspect of the problem.

17. Half of the young adults in the US reported losing money to scammers in 2020.

(Source: Newsy)

The targets of robocall scams are usually seniors. Still, only 20% of people aged 70-79 reported losing money to fraud in 2020.

In comparison, 50% of young adults between 20-29 years fell victims to scammers.

Despite being more likely to fall into the trap, 20-somethings give less money than seniors.

While those in their 20s lost around $300 per person, 70+ year olds lost $650 on average.

18. Fraudsters targeted 60-69 year olds the most in 2020.

(Source: Statista)

US adults aged 60-69 reported 179,757 cases of fraud in total. The second most targeted group was people between 30 and 39.

Young adults under 19 were targeted the least, with 35,884 cases reported.

19. One in ten US adults gets scammed every year.

(Source: Legaljobs)

The internet hides numerous threats to people’s privacy and security. It made identity theft so easy that most scams nowadays happen online.

Despite that, old-school methods are still widespread. Phone scams, in particular, are among the top most common frauds in the US.

20. US citizens lost $29.8 billion to phone scams in 2021.

(Source: Truecaller)

2021 is the year with the largest amount of money lost to phone scams.

In fact, since 2014, the money scammed each year is consistently over $7 billion.

21. The average loss of scam call victims as of July 2021 was $502.

(Source: Truecaller)

This sum has fluctuated a lot during the past few years. From $489 in 2014, it dropped down to $275 in 2015.

It bounced back to $430 in 2017, only to decrease again, reaching $244 in 2019.

22. Men are more frequent victims of fraud than women.

(Source: Truecaller)

Younger men are more likely to become victims of phone scams than younger women and older men.

40% of men in the 18-34 age group and 46% of those aged 35-44 fell victims to phone fraud in 2021.

In comparison, only 31% of 18-34 years old women and 25% of women between 35 and 44 were scammed.

23. Spain was the country with the most robocalls in 2019.

(Source: ZDNet)

The call blocker platform Hiya reported that Spain held the record for the most robocalls in 2019.

Robocall scams are also common in other countries, including the UK, Italy, France, Argentina, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Australia.

Wrap Up

Robocall stats show that scam calls are a growing problem. Although some companies use them for legitimate purposes, the increase in misuse is alarming.

Citizens can protect themselves by installing a spam call blocking app or through their network provider’s security options.

However, to eradicate the problem, governments should get involved in the fight against malicious robocalls.

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Nick Galov
Nick Galov

Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.