Whether you hate them or love them, they’ve become a part of everyday life, and some cities seem to suffer from them more than others, according to a new survey that looked at where robocalls are most prominent.
The data comes from the YouMail Robocall Index and found that some cities experience calls from unknown numbers or with no caller ID that are nothing more than automated messages more than others.
The data also showed that nationwide, there was a 4% increase in robocalls throughout February when compared to the previous month, which had seen a 5.7% increase from December.
In total, YouMail shared in a recent press release that U.S. consumers received just over 4.3 billion robocalls in February.
To compile its findings, YouMail uses its free voicemail and spam-blocking app to collect the data from “robocall traffic attempting to get through to YouMail’s millions of active users.”
The cities to have the most calls overall included Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and New York, the company found.
However, YouMail looked at calls per individual, finding that the top city to have to put up with the annoying phone calls is Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which has had 45 calls per capita throughout January.
Since YouMail began collecting data on Robocalls nearly five years ago, Baton Rouge has been among the top cities when it comes to calls per capita, a company spokesperson told Nexstar.
Baton Rouge was followed by Memphis, Tennessee, with 39.5 calls per person; Washington, D.C., at 32.8; Little Rock, Arkansas, at 32.4; Macon, Georgia, at 31.6; Birmingham, Alabama, at 31; Albany, Georgia, at 30.7; Lafayette, Louisiana, at 30.4; San Antonio, Texas, at 30; and Charleston, South Carolina, at 28.5.
“Robocall volumes have been very steady for nearly a year,” YouMail CEO Alex Quilici said in the release. “Consumers still need to protect themselves with robocall blocking apps like YouMail, since this problem is remarkably stubborn, despite the efforts of enforcement, carriers, and others.”
When it comes to the total number of estimated calls by states so far this year, Texas reigns supreme (533,885,600), followed by California (396,258,400), Florida (359,991,400), Georgia (282,090,800), New York (234,991,400), Illinois (182,366,000), North Carolina (176,395,700), and Pennsylvania (169,838,000).
The calls always seem to come at the most inopportune time and are about car warranties, fake debt collectors, computer viruses, and many more annoying topics. But in January, the most common robocall was for a fake Camp Lejeune compensation campaign, YouMail shared.
The Federal Communications Commission is looking to address the nuisance of robocalls, saying that unwanted calls are among the top consumer complaints the commission receives.
For more information about how to potentially stop the calls, visit the FCC’s website on robocalls here.
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