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Friday, February 08, 2019

Robots Call Americans An Average Eight Times A Month

While Americans talk on the phone less often, robots seem to be more keen to do so...

Statista's Katharina Buchholz notes that an analysis by spam protection app provider Hiya has found that 26.3 billion calls were placed by machines in the U.S. in 2018 – and that most robots were up to no good.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The company estimates that the number is an increase of 46 percent in robocalls over 2017. Considering that there were 274 million mobile phone plan subscribers in the U.S. in 2018, robots called every mobile phone user an average of eight times a month. Robots were used to scam people with fake vouchers or lottery wins. Other phone users were charged when calling back an overseas number.

The biggest segment of calls made by robots were just annoying spam (32.1 percent), according to Hiya. Cases of actual fraud amounted up to an estimated 25.5 percent of all robocalls made. Another 24.7 percent of calls were placed by telemarketer machines.

Texas was the state most heavily targeted by robocalls in 2018, in part due to the fact that a popular scam had machines call people and tell them they won a free trip or the like with Dallas-based company Southwest Airlines.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am very tired of the endless phone calls
Many times (if I answer) there is nobody on the other end.
Many times the caller simply hangs up if I speak.

I don't understand the purpose of these calls?

Why do they continue to call me and hang up?

Anonymous said...

I depend on my phone for my business and they have used local caller ID numbers. I have called back and gotten private parties who never called and a local jewelry store. It is so bad I don't answer unless I recognize the number so they are actually hurting my business.

Anonymous said...

I get a robocall one to two times a day. If I'm not busy I tie them up as long as I can.

Anonymous said...

Nancy and Lisa call me at least ten times a week.

Anonymous said...

One day in the future, robots will be knocking at your door to sell you things.

Anonymous said...

My reject list is full on my phone, I joined "Robo Calls", that does work some....don't understand "Baltimore Gas and Electric" at all!! On the Shore? I too depend on the phone for business...I don't answer with my name any more, I say, " Can I help you?"....and once I find out the call is for real I apologize and explain....and they "ALL" say, "I am right there with you !"....gentleman said " I don't answer if I don't know who they are"....told him I would like that luxury, but I can't because of sales calls that "are" for real.