Robocalls, I think we can safely say we all despise them. These calls come from a bevy of different sources. They are frustratingly annoying, from bill collectors and extended car warranty companies to credit card companies and random “health” companies.
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A new report released by AtlasVPN shows that more than 50 billion robocalls were made in the United States in 2021. That tops the 2020 results but falls short of 2019 results. The report also shows that Texas, California, and Florida were the hardest hit with these calls.
The data is based on the Robocall Index by YouMail, which extrapolates the data collected from calls made to YouMail users.
If we look at the historical data of robocalls, we can see that their number has been steadily growing from 2016 up to 2019, when they reach a record 58.5 calls per year. In 2020, during the pandemic due to the closing of call centers, the number of robocalls in the US plummeted by over a fifth (22%) to 45.9 billion.
However, the number of robocalls has been climbing once again since then. All in all, 262.3 billion robocalls were received by US residents from 2016 to 2021.
While residents of all US states received their share of robocalls last year, some were affected more than others.
Texas residents endured the most robocalls out of all the states in 2021. In total, they experienced 5.8 billion robocalls, an almost 12% rise from 2020. Dallas got 1.8 billion robocalls, the biggest share out of all cities in Texas, with Houston following not far behind with 1.4 billion.
The US most populous state California comes in second on the list. Overall, close to 4.6 billion calls were directed at Californians in 2021. Compared to 2020, last year saw only a slight 1% increase in robocalls. Los Angeles residents suffered the most, receiving 1.35 billion robocalls.
Florida occupies the third spot on the list with 4.1 billion robocalls. Compared to 2020, such calls rose by 10% in the sunshine state last year. The most affected city in Florida was Orlando, with 636.7 million robocalls.
AtlasVPN
There are several ways to avoid these calls; you can not answer calls from unknown numbers. And, if you do answer and the person on the other side isn’t familiar, you can decide to hang up and not engage. Never give out any personal information to callers you cannot identify.
Or you can employ an app called Robokiller, which we have reviewed here. Robokiller is a great tool to have, and it does the heavy lifting for you.
What do you think of this report? Have you fallen victim to a robocall? What tools do you use to battle them? Please share your thoughts on any of the social media pages listed below. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
