Over 211 Million Extended Warranty Scam Robocalls in August

Tony Russell • Scams, Robocalls • September 10, 2020

Auto warranty robocalls top YouMail's monthly Robocall Index for the second consecutive month

For the second consecutive month, auto warranty scam robocalls topped YouMail's robocall index, which measures the volume of robocalls received by Americans each month. YouMail,estimates that U.S. consumers received 211.8 million robocalls in August 2020, or about 6.83 million extended warranty robocalls per day.

Warranty scam robocalls up slightly over July

July's warranty robocalls clocked in at just over 208 million for the month, and August's numbers represent a 2% increase in warranty robocall volume as compared to the prior month.

Robocalls grew at a surprisingly low rate in August, despite economies continuing to reopen. While we would love for this slow rate of growth to continue, we expect this is just a pleasant hiccup as robocalls continue a steady rise.

Total robocall volume remains steady

Nearly 3.7 billion robocalls in total were received by Americans, up from 3.6 billion calls in July, or around a 1% increase over the previous month.

In August, robocalls averaged 118.3 million calls/day or roughly 1,370 calls/second, up from 117.1 million calls/day and 1,356 calls/second in July. There have been just over 30.1 billion robocalls so far in the first 8 months of the year, averaging 3.8 billion/month, or 18% lower than the 2019 average of 4.9 billion robocalls/month.

"Robocalls grew at a surprisingly low rate in August, despite economies continuing to reopen," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "While we would love for this slow rate of growth to continue, we expect this is just a pleasant hiccup as robocalls continue a steady rise."

Top illegal robocalls in August 2020

In August, Car Warranty Scam calls remained the most frequently made illegal robocall for the second consecutive month, while Medical Scams continued to represent the next most frequent category of illegal robocalls. The breakdown of categories was similar in August compared to July. Scams and telemarketing together remained a big headache, with roughly 2.2 billion calls between them, and nearly 60% of the month's total robocall volume.

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.