40% Increase in Car Warranty Scam Robocalls in July 2020

Tony Russell • Auto Warranty, Warranty Scams • August 7, 2020

Extended warranty robocalls top YouMail's monthly robocall index for the first time

Extended auto warranty scam robocalls topped the YouMail robocall index for the first time in July 2020. YouMail estimates in their latest report that consumers received 208.4 million car warranty scam robocalls last month, an average of about 6.75 million illegal calls per day.

Warranty scam robocalls up 40%

About 150 million warranty robocalls were made in June of 2020 — July's numbers are a staggering rise of almost 60 million warranty calls versus the prior month. July's additional 60 million robocalls represents a 40% increase over June 2020.

Overall, robocalls increased 9% over June, with July 2020 clocking in at 3.6 billion robocalls, or about 117 million robocalls per day.

In July, Car Warranty Scam calls became the most frequently made robocalls for the first time, finally surpassing Health-Related Scams. This is likely due to the main health insurance campaigns having been fined by the FCC and the traffic being shut down by various wholesale carriers.

October 2019 is the high-water mark for robocalls with 5.7 billion robocalls, or over 190 million per day. July's numbers are 36% below the all time high, but illegal robocalls are rising steadily since the April 2020 low-point of 2.8 billion calls.

"Robocalls continue to grow as countries around the world open up again, which is not unexpected," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "While we don't anticipate robocalls going back to peak levels, we fully expect the rising monthly trend to continue for some time."

"Press 1" robocalls on the rise

In July, Scam robocalls increased by 12%, to roughly 1.7 billion calls, a substantial 22% increase in Telemarketing calls to nearly 500 million calls. This trend was driven by call centers continuing to open, where there are now people to handle return calls or "press 1" when called.

Extended warranty robocalls atop July 2020 report

In July, Car Warranty Scam calls became the most frequently made robocalls for the first time, finally surpassing Health-Related Scams. This is likely due to the main health insurance campaigns having been fined by the FCC and the traffic being shut down by various wholesale carriers.

Data courtesy of YouMail

These data are provided by YouMail, a free call protection app for mobile phones. YouMail recently won the American Business Awards' Gold Stevie Award for Technical Innovation of the Year, and the YouMail app was named the nation's best robocall-blocking solution in a competition organized by Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post.

YouMail blocks unwanted robocallers by making sure the user's phone doesn't ring, and then plays an out-of-service message that leads them to think they dialed an invalid number. YouMail identifies problematic numbers and robocalls using a combination of its recently patented audio fingerprinting technology, call patterns, and consumer feedback.

YouMail provides the YouMail Robocall Index to estimate robocall volume across the country and for specific area codes every month. This estimate is formed by extrapolating from the behavior of the billions of calls YouMail has handled for its users, and these statistics are regularly cited by the FCC as a definitive source for national data trends.

About YouMail, Inc

YouMail Inc. provides security-first, cloud-based communication services for mobile phones. Our free app-based service uses sophisticated, patented technology to block robocalls and phishing messages, protecting users from spam, identify theft, stalkers, and corporate fraud. Our premium call management services provide virtual receptionist and virtual number services, and they are designed for people who use their mobile phone for business. These services help them unify virtual numbers with their cell number, handle high volumes of mobile calls, and provide personalized answering experiences for their callers. YouMail's communications platform handles over a billion calls per year for over 10 million users, and our users range from everyday consumers to sole proprietors to the CEOs of the largest companies in America. The YouMail Robocall Index™ , since its launch in in September 2015, has emerged as the nation's definitive source on robocalling data for telecom carriers, smartphone and app companies, and public policymakers. YouMail, Inc. is privately funded and based in Irvine, California.