Robocalls skyrocket by 325 percent worldwide, as people demand protection
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The global scourge of robocalls shows no sign of stopping.
According to a new report from Hiya, global spam calls grew by an astounding 325 percent to 85 billion over the last year worldwide.
"As spam calls continue to skyrocket globally, the demand for protection from unwanted phone calls has increased drastically," said Alex Algard, CEO of Hiya, in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"By combining industry-leading call spam detection with a solution that ensures calls from legitimate businesses are properly identified, it's our mission to make sure everyone across the world can confidently answer their phone again," he added.
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Some people have given up and are no longer answering their phones.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hiya analyzes more than 12 billion calls per month and uses proprietary algorithms to identify the calls that are unwanted. The full global report can be viewed here.
Regulators are taking notice of rising consumer complaints, and companies such as T-Mobile and Verizon are taking steps to prevent robocalls and flag them for customers.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hiya found that Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and France have the biggest problem with robocalls. The most prominent spam campaigns worldwide include banking, extortion/kidnapping and credit cards.
In the U.S., the spam rate is 10 percent and there are approximately seven monthly spam calls per user, according to the report.