US Phones Hit by 2.6 Billion Robocalls in September

U.S. phones were blasted by 2.6 billion robocalls in September, more than doubling the total number of estimated monthly robocalls received nationwide from one year before in September 2015.

The total number of robocalls received in September 2016 equaled roughly 87 million calls per day, or 1,008 robocalls for every second of the month on average.

These figures come from the latest YouMail Robocall Index report released by YouMail.

"We are committed to understanding the size of the nation's robocall problem, helping consumers and businesses stop annoying robocalls, and helping telecom service providers protect their subscribers," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "The more consumers and service providers take advantage of the tools we provide, the faster we'll start making a real dent in the nation's robocall problem."

Inbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from September

Columbus, Ohio, notched the biggest increase during the month with 25 million robocalls received in September, a 20% gain over August which catapulted Columbus from #31 to #22 on the Top 50 Most Robocalled Cities list. This increase may be due to political polling and campaign robocalls placed to the capitol city of Ohio, a fiercely contested election battleground state.

Atlanta continued its streak atop the YouMail 50 Most Robocalled Cities in America list for the tenth straight month, with 115.7 million robocalls received in September, a 3% increase over the previous month. The Top 10 Cities leading the list for September were the same cities that led the list in August, including New York (#2), Dallas (#3), Chicago (#4), Houston (#5), Los Angeles (#6), Baltimore (#7), Newark, NJ (#8), Philadelphia (#9), and Detroit (#10).

Southern states remained an ongoing hotbed for robocall activity, with 19 Southern cities reaching the Top 50 list, and with 14 of the Top 20 Most Robocalled Area Codes based in the South. Texas was the nation's most robocalled state in the country for the fourth straight month, with 295.6 million calls received in September.

Outbound Robocalling "Lowlights" from September

One national credit card company continued its reign as holder of the single most active robocalling phone number for the 13th straight month, with an estimated 20.9 million calls placed in September alone. In addition, one retail debt collector owns four of the Top 20 numbers that placed the most robocalls in the month of September.

California continued its dubious honor as the country's leading state for making robocalls, with 208.1 million calls placed in September. In addition, Los Angeles retained its top spot as the city producing the most robocalls, with 68.3 million calls placed in September, up by more than 600,000 calls from August.

Columbus, Ohio, surpassed New York City as the second most prolific robocalling city with 67.8 million calls made in September, an increase of 7.7 million calls over August. Other prolific robocalling cities in September included New York (#3), Atlanta (#4), Chicago (#5), Dallas (#6), Houston (#7), Phoenix (#8), Kansas City (#9), and Washington, D.C. (#10)