They may not all come at dinnertime, but according to the recently released YouMail Robocall Index, which tracks the volume and extent of computer-generated calls in the United States, more than 187,753,000 robocalls were made to Utah area codes in 2017. That’s an average of more than 200 calls per year to every residence in the state.
The industry data came last week ahead of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) March 23 policy forum “Fighting the Scourge of Illegal Robocalls,” held in Washington, D.C. Both agencies have taken a strong stance against scam and spoofed-number robocalls but have been softer on legitimate businesses making illegal calls to telephones without consent.
As it was in 2016, Capital One, Comcast, Home Depot and Citibank continue as the top generators of robocalls to Utah numbers.
“This data illustrates a rapid expansion of the use of robocall technology and the toll these abusive calls take on Utah consumers,” said Margot Saunders, senior counsel at the National Consumer Law Center.
Earlier this year, the FTC’s Biennial Report to Congress revealed a sizeable uptick in consumer complaints about robocalls in 2017, with 4.5 million complaints filed in 2017 compared to 3.4 million in 2016. More than 66,000 Utah residents complained to the FTC about robocalls and other violations of the Do Not Call Registry in 2017.
The data cited July as an example of the growing problem with robocalls. The 2.59 billion calls received nationwide that month equals an estimated 83.8 million calls per day. That pace equates to 3.5 million robocalls per hour or 58,000 calls during every minute of the month. For any given hour, over 1 percent of the country received a robocall. In fact, the actual problem is worse because there are fewer calls during nighttime hours, meaning for any given hour during daytime, roughly 2 percent of the country is getting a robocall.