Are you getting bombarded with spam calls on your cell phone? You’re not alone.
A new report from call blocker protection company Hiya says that spam calls have increased 128% in the first half of 2019 compared to the same time last year.
Report: Spam calls changing American attitudes toward answering phones
Hiya’s “State of the Call” report, which analyzed phone call behavior, call pick-up rates, call duration and the like for the first half of the year shows that spam calls are changing American attitudes toward phone calls in general.
“Only 48% of calls Americans receive on their phones are picked up, which means that more than half of all calls are unanswered,” the report summary says.
Among the key findings of the report are that, on average:
- A person receives 93 calls a month
- 46 of those calls are from numbers “not saved in contacts”
- 16 of those calls are spam calls
The findings also shed light on which unlucky regions are receiving the most spam calls.
The Dallas, Texas area came in first (last?), according to Hiya. The report says that many spammers are spoofing their numbers to appear as if they originate from Southwest Airlines, which is headquartered in Dallas.
Top 10 Area Codes For Spam Calls In 2019 |
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Rank | City & State | Area Code |
1 | Dallas, Texas | 214 |
2 | San Antonio, Texas | 210 |
3 | Fort Worth, Texas | 817 |
4 | Houston, Texas | 832 |
5 | Austin, Texas | 512 |
6 | Atlanta, Georgia | 404 |
7 | Miami, Florida | 305 |
8 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 405 |
9 | Birmingham, Alabama | 205 |
10 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 702 |
How to avoid spam calls the Clark Howard way
Money expert Clark Howard says he has a simple rule that allows his life not to be disrupted by spam calls:
“It’s a simple rule: If I don’t recognize the number as being from someone I know, I do not answer the call.”