Phone spamming is a rapidly growing global concern affecting million and causing massive financial losses, emotional distress, and a lack of trust among phone users.
Should you worry about phone spamming?
Read these phone spamming statistics and trends to decide if this technology challenge warrants your attention.
Top 6 Phone Spam Statistics (Editor’s Pick)
- One Indian spammer made 202 million spam calls from the same number in 2021.
- Americans received an average of 19.5 spam texts per month in 2022.
- Financial service providers accounted for 61.4% of spam calls in Russia.
- Notice of data breach was the most common robotext received by Americans in 2022.
- In 2021, 40% of all spam calls were spoofed.
- 68.4 million Americans fell victim to phone scams in 2022.
Infographic
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/phone-spam-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-6-phone-spam-statistics.png" alt="Top 6 Phone Spam Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="613.99067288474" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-6-phone-spam-statistics-1536x1228.png 1501w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-6-phone-spam-statistics-1024x819.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-6-phone-spam-statistics.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-6-phone-spam-statistics-300x240.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
General Phone Spam Statistics & Trends
1. The FCC fined a Texas-based health insurance telemarketer $225 million in March 2021.
John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears received this fine (the highest in FCC history) for making over a billion illegally spoofed robocalls, claiming to offer health insurance in 2019.
2. One Indian spammer made 202 million spam calls from the same number in 2021.
Data shows that the Indian spammer called approximately 27000 every hour and 664000 people per day.
3. Americans received over 87 billion spam texts in 2021.
That is in addition to the 72,236,875,541 spam calls they received in the same period.
4. Americans received over 9 billion spam texts in January 2022.
This figure is higher than the approximately 8.9 billion spam texts Americans received in December 2021.
5. In January 2023, Americans received over 4.5 billion robocalls.
This figure is a 5.7% increase from the 4.265 billion December figure representing 145.5 million calls per day or 1684 calls per second.
6. In 2022, Americans received an average of 30.7 spam calls per month.
In comparison, the average American received 30.7 spam calls per month in 2021 and 28 spam calls per month in 2020.
7. 58% of Americans said they received more spam calls/texts in 2022 than in 2021.
In contrast, 14% of Americans said they received fewer spam calls/texts in 2022 than in 2021, according to a 2022 survey.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/phone-spam-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/americans-receive-spam-calls-texts.png" alt="Americans Spam Calls and Texts Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/americans-receive-spam-calls-texts-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/americans-receive-spam-calls-texts-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/americans-receive-spam-calls-texts.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/americans-receive-spam-calls-texts-300x213.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
8. In 2022, 51% of Americans believed that neighbor spoofing had increased.
In contrast, 7% of Americans believed that spam calls from their area code had decreased. Meanwhile, 35% thought it stayed the same, and 7% claimed not to have received spam calls from their neighborhood.
Phone Spam Statistics by Age & Gender
9. Americans between 18-34 received an average of 16.1 spam messages per month in 2022.
In contrast, older Americans (65+) received an average of 25.1 spam texts monthly. Additional data reveals that Americans between 35-44, 45-54, and 55-64 received 18, 21, and 18.1 spam texts per month, respectively.
10. In 2022, Americans above 65 received an average of 50.4 spam calls per month.
That is compared to 20.3 monthly spam calls for Americans between 18-34.
The table below shows the breakdown of spam calls received vs. age in the US.
| Age | Monthly Spam Calls |
|---|---|
| 18-34 | 20.3 |
| 35-44 | 22.3 |
| 45-54 | 29.8 |
| 55-64 | 33.8 |
| 65+ | 50.4 |
11. American males above 65 received the highest monthly spam messages in 2022.
In comparison, American males between 18-34 received the least spam phone messages in the reporting period.
The table below summarizes spam texts received by age and gender.
| 18-34 Years | 35- 44 Years | 45-54 Years | 55-64 Years | 65+ Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 18 | 19.4 | 20.9 | 18.5 | 20.3 |
| Male | 13.7 | 16.7 | 20.9 | 17.5 | 30.8 |
12. In 2022, American males above 65 received the highest monthly spam calls.
That is compared to 17.1% of American males between 18 and 34 who received the least monthly spam calls in the reporting period.
The table below summarizes spam calls received vs. gender and age.
| 18-34 Years | 35-44 Years | 45-54 Years | 55-64 Years | 65+ Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 23.7 | 25.5 | 30.6 | 32 | 46.3 |
| Male | 17.1 | 19 | 29 | 35.8 | 55.4 |
13. 55.6% of American phone scam victims in 2022 were men.
In contrast, 42.2% of phone scam victims were women, while 2.3% identified as non-binary.
14. In 2022, 51% of American phone spam victims in the 35-44 bracket were male.
That is compared to 32% of female in the same age bracket. In contrast, 9% of men and 11% of women above 65 were phone scam victims in the reporting period.
The table below summarizes phone scam percentages by age and gender.
| Gender | 18-34 Years | 35-44 Years | 45-54 Years | 55-64 Years | 65+ Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 46% | 51% | 24% | 10% | 9% |
| Female | 34% | 32% | 15% | 8% | 11% |
Phone Spam Statistics by Country
15. Americans received an average of 19.5 spam texts per month in 2022.
In contrast, Americans received an average of 16.9 spam texts per month in 2021 and 14.7 spam texts per month in 2020.
The table below summarizes the average monthly spam texts received by Americans.
| Year | Monthly Spam Texts |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 19.5 |
| 2021 | 16.9 |
| 2020 | 14.7 |
| 2019 | 10.6 |
| 2018 | 8.5 |
16. Brazil was the most spammed country in 2021.
The average Brazilian received 32.9 spam calls per month in 2021, while Peruvians received less than 20 spam calls per month. In contrast, the US, the UAE, and Greece had the least spam calls in 2021, averaging 5 spam calls per month.
17. Cameroonians were worst affected by spam SMSs in 2021.
The average Cameroonian received over 16 spam SMSs per month, followed by Somalia with less than 12 spam SMSs per month. In contrast, Chad, Indonesia, and Botswana had the lowest spam SMS rate, averaging 6 spam SMSs per month.
18. In 2021, financial services providers were responsible for 44.1% of Brazilian spam calls.
In contrast, sales calls and scammers accounted for 39% and 16.9% of all Brazilian spam calls.
19. Sales calls accounted for 46.5% of spam calls in Peru in 2021.
Financial service providers, scammers, and nuisance callers accounted for 37.3%, 10.8%, and 5.4% of Peru’s spam calls, respectively.
20. Financial services accounted for 58.1% of Ukraine’s spam calls in 2021.
Call data additionally shows that scam calls were responsible for 22.8%, sales calls for 11.6%, and robocalls for 7.5% of all spam calls in Ukraine.
21. In 2021, sales calls accounted for 93.5% of India’s spam calls.
Scam calls accounted for 1.4% of spam calls, while nuisance and financial service calls accounted for 2% and 3.1% of Indian spam calls.
22. Financial service providers accounted for 74.6% of Mexico's spam calls in 2021.
Survey data also shows that sales and scam calls accounted for 20.6% and 4.8% of Mexico’s spam calls, respectively.
23. Financial service calls accounted for 80% of Indonesia’s spam calls in 2021.
In contrast, scam and sales calls accounted for 1% and 19% of the total spam calls, respectively.
24. Indonesia's spam calls doubled between January and October 2021.
In January, the total volume of Indonesia’s spam calls stood at 12,580,275, which rose to 25,789,283 by October 2021.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/phone-spam-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/indonesia-spam-calls.png" alt="Spam Calls in Indonesia" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/indonesia-spam-calls-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/indonesia-spam-calls-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/indonesia-spam-calls.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/indonesia-spam-calls-300x213.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
25. In 2021, Telemarketing/sales calls accounted for 70% of Chile's spam calls.
Communication data further shows that financial services and scam calls accounted for 22.6% and 7.4% of Chile’s spam calls.
26. Financial service providers made up 50.7% of South Africa's spam calls.
While sales and scam calls accounted for 43.3% and 6% of all South African spam calls in 2021.
27. Financial service providers accounted for 61.4% of spam calls in Russia.
In contrast, sales and spam calls accounted for 29.4% and 8.8% of Russia’s spam calls in 2021.
28. Vietnam tripled its spam call volumes between January and October 2021.
From 436,556 spam calls in January 2021, Vietnam’s spam calls rose to 1,359,746 in October 2021, representing a 300% increase in spam call volumes.
29. In 2021, nuisance calls accounted for 0.9% of Vietnam's spam calls.
In contrast, financial services accounted for 62.1% of Vietnam’s spam calls.
Data further show that scam and sales calls accounted for 26.1% and 10.9% of spam calls, respectively.
30. Sales calls made up 64.5% of Colombia's spam calls in 2021.
In contrast, nuisance and financial services calls accounted for 2.9% and 32.6% of Colombia’s spam calls, respectively.
31. In 2021, scam calls accounted for 39.3% of Spain's spam calls.
Data shows financial services and sales calls accounted for 12% and 48.7% of Spain’s spam calls.
32. Nuisance calls accounted for 2.1% of Ecuador's spam calls in 2021.
In comparison, sales, financial services, and scam calls accounted for 59.4%, 35.4%, and 2.8% of spam calls, respectively.
33. In 2021, sales calls comprised 67.4% of Turkey’s spam calls.
Research data further reveals that financial services, scams, and nuisance calls accounted for 20.4%, 9.3%, and 2.9% of Turkey’s total spam calls, respectively.
34. Sales calls accounted for 74.3% of Italy’s total spam calls in 2021.
In contrast, nuisance calls accounted for 8%, while financial services and scam calls accounted for 8.8% and 8.9% of total spam calls, respectively.
35. 55.1% of spam calls in Honduras came from financial services providers.
While scam calls accounted for 2.2% of the country’s spam calls.
Additionally, sales and nuisance calls comprised 29.7% and 13% of the total spam calls in 2021.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/phone-spam-statistics/" target="_blank" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/honduras-spam-calls-financial-services-providers.png" alt="Spam Calls in Honduras From Financial Services Providers" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/honduras-spam-calls-financial-services-providers-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/honduras-spam-calls-financial-services-providers-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/honduras-spam-calls-financial-services-providers.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/honduras-spam-calls-financial-services-providers-300x213.png 300w" sizes="auto"></a>
36. Financial service calls accounted for 70.9% of Costa Rica's spam calls in 2021.
Scam calls accounted for 3.9%, while nuisance and sales calls accounted for 9.1% and 16.1% of Costa Rica’s spam calls.
37. Scam calls accounted for 16.3% of Greece’s total spam calls in 2021.
While scam and financial services calls accounted for 16.3% and 7.8% of the country’s total spam calls.
38. In 2021, sales calls comprised 75.2% of spam calls in the United Arab Emirates.
Scam calls accounted for 1.4% of all spam calls in the UAE. In comparison, sales and financial services calls accounted for 75.2% and 23.4%, respectively.
39. Scam calls comprised 4.8% of US spam calls in 2021.
In contrast, sales calls accounted for 51.9%, while nuisance calls comprised 13% of America’s spam calls.
Phone Text Spam Statistics
40. Notice of data breach was the most common robotext received by Americans in 2022.
32% of robotexts received by Americans were a data breach notice, while 30% were from mobile, satellite, or cable TV companies. Additionally, discount retail gift cards, change passwords, and cybersecurity software accounted for 30%, 21%, and 19% of robotexts Americans received.
41. Idaho received the most spam text per person.
Idaho residents received an average of 435 spam texts per person by June 2022, while those in South Carolina received 387 spam texts per person in the reporting period.
The table below gives the spam text volume per person per state breakdown for the five most active states.
| State | Average Spam Text per Person |
|---|---|
| Idaho | 435 |
| South Dakota | 427 |
| Missouri | 403 |
| Georgia | 403 |
| South Carolina | 387 |
42. Spam texts received by Americans exceeded 147 billion in 2022.
This represented a 68% increase from 88 billion spam texts in 2021.
43. California received the highest number of spam texts.
In the first half of 2022, Californians received 6.455 billion spam texts, followed by Texas (6.046 billion) and New York (4.657 billion).
The table below lists the top five states by spam text volume from January-June 2022.
| State | Spam Texts Received |
|---|---|
| California | 6,445,905,690 |
| Texas | 6,046,852,544 |
| New York | 4,657,189,417 |
| Florida | 4,054,202,896 |
| Georgia | 3,531,163,825 |
Phone Call Spam Statistics
44. In 2021, 40% of all spam calls were spoofed.
In contrast, 38.77% and 39.70% of all spam calls received by Americans were spoofed in January and February 2021. In June and October, 38.52% and 47.17% of spam calls were spoofed.
45. Vehicle warranties accounted for 60% of all robocalls Americans received in 2022.
In contrast, 14%, 29%, and 30% of American robocalls were about investing in cryptocurrencies, social security number suspension, and from the IRS, respectively.
The table below summarizes the types of robocalls received by Americans in 2022.
| Type of Robocall | % of Total Robocalls |
|---|---|
| Vehicle warranties | 60% |
| Medicare | 37% |
| Tax or legal fines | 34% |
| Cable or satellite TV providers | 32% |
| Sweepstakes/lotteries | 30% |
46. 45% of spam calls in June 2022 were spoofed.
That is compared to 40.5% and 40% of spoofed spam calls in January and February 2022, respectively. The percentage of spoofed spam calls in October, November, and December was 47%, 41%, and 40%, respectively.
47. Americans received roughly 40 billion spam calls between January and June 2022.
Data shows that April, received the highest number of spam calls within the six month reporting period.
Check out the estimated number of spam calls Americans received between January and June 2022.
| Month | Number of Spam Calls |
|---|---|
| January | Over 6 billion |
| February | Over 6 billion |
| March | Over 6 billion |
| April | Over 8 billion |
| May | 6 billion |
| June | Over 7 billion |
Phone Spam Scam Statistics
48. Americans lost approximately $33 billion to phone spam in 2022.
In contrast, Americans lost $30 billion from phone spam in 2021.
The table below summarizes Americans’ financial losses from phone spam between January and June 2022.
| Period | Estimated Loss |
|---|---|
| Q1 2022 | Over $18 billion |
| Q2 2022 | $15 billion |
49. Vehicle warranty was the top robocall scam category in the US.
Between January and June 2022, vehicle warranties contributed 14.59% of the total robocall scams in the US. Health insurance, pharmacy, and insurance contributed 4.39%,1.28%, and 0.54% of robocall scams, respectively.
50. Delivery scams from spam texts cost Americans $5,875,410,962 between January and June, 2021.
In contrast, bank and COVID 19 text scams cost Americans $1,768,537,638 and $1,642,917,302, respectively.
The table below summarizes the top scam categories from spam texts between January and June, 2022.
| Spam Text Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Delivery scams | $5,875,410,962 |
| Bank scams | $1,768,537,638 |
| COVID 19 scams | $1,642,917,302 |
| Travel scams | $780,521,340 |
| Apple and hardware | $744,529,174 |
51. Between January and June 2022, Americans lost approximately $9.7 billion to phone text scams.
Q1 2022 recorded a higher phone text scam value (over $5 billion) than Q2 2022 (less than $5 billion).
52. 68.4 million Americans fell victim to phone scams in 2022.
This figure is higher than the 59.4 million and 56 million Americans that lost money to phone scams in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The table below summarizes American phone scam losses between 2018-2022.
| Year | Number of Phone Scam Victims |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 68.4 million |
| 2021 | 59.4 million |
| 2020 | 56 million |
| 2019 | 43 million |
| 2018 | 24.9 million |
53. Phone scams cost Americans $39.5 billion in 2022.
That is compared to the $29.8 billion, $19.7 billion, and $10.5 billion lost by Americans in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
54. Americans lost an average of $577 to phone scams in 2022.
That is compared to the $502 average scam loss in 2021. Scam data further shows that Americans lost an average of $351, $244, and $357 in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.
55. In 2022, Robocalls accounted for 61.1% of all American phone scams.
That is compared to the 60%, 61.5%, and 59.8% of robocalls involved in phone scams in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
Is Phone Spamming Worth Your Attention?
Although quite common, phone spamming is a serious global challenge that most people are unaware of. Learning about these vital phone spamming statistics and trends will help you better prepare for this ever-evolving technological challenge.
Also read our phishing statistics, facts, and trends article to learn how phishing is affecting our everyday lives.
- https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-fines-telemarketer-225-million-spoofed-robocalls
- United States Robocalls by Month | YouMail Robocall Index
- Truecaller Insights 2022 U.S. Spam & Scam Report – Truecaller Blog
- Truecaller Insights: Top 20 Countries Affected By Spam Calls In 2021 – Truecaller Blog
- 6318ebb87b0b187186742984_RKC 2022 Mid Year Phone Scam Insights.pdf (website-files.com)
- Americans are drowning in spam (axios.com)
- 62712673a07d65fd78c3ca50_robokiller_yearly_phone_report_2021.pdf (website-files.com)
- 17 Spam Text Statistics for 2022 & Spam Text Examples | SlickText
- 35+ Phone Spam Statistics and Facts for 2017 – 2022 (comparitech.com)
