Here Are Boulder County’s Most Prolific Robocallers

BOULDER, CO -- Robocalls are annoying. There’s nothing worse than seeing your phone buzz, picking up, and hearing a robotic voice on the other end try to dupe you into giving up your bank and credit card information. And with tax season coming up, Boulder County can expect even more.

A record 5.2 billion robocalls were placed last month, according to YouMail’s robocall index, and 58 percent of them were scam or telemarketing calls. Interestingly, the different callers are targeting those with 720 area codes and 303 area codes — and the 720'ers are far more likely to get the spam calls. That includes 75.5 million robocalls in Colorado and 58.3 million for the 720 and 303 codes combined.

Here are the top 10 robocallers for 303 numbers last month:

1. TELEMARKETER, 254-249-1139, Killeen, TX, Unknown Robocaller
2. HVAC Scam, 303-700-5511, Denver, CO, HVAC Scam
3. Harasser, 303-569-9814, Denver, CO, Robocaller
4. Brooklyn, Denver, CO, Robocaller
5. 720-639-8087, Robocaller
6. ARC Thrift Store, 303-238-5263 Denver, CO, Robocaller
7. Comcast Customer Service, 800-266-2278, Debt Collector
8. CO LYONS, 303-747-4210, Denver, CO,Robocaller
9. Random Spam, 412-432-3243 Pittsburgh, PA, Random Spam
10. School Denv Pub, 720-423-3098, Denver, CO, Robocaller

Here are the top 10 robocallers for 720 numbers last month:

1. Substitute Teacher Alert 720-501-6291 Denver, CO
2. Prison Call Consent, 720-330-2195 Denver, CO
3. Mom, 720-422-0509 Denver, CO, Unknown Robocaller
4. TELEMARKETER 254-249-1139 Killeen, TX, Unknown Robocaller
5. 720-639-8087 Denver, CO, Unknown Robocaller
6. Denv School Pub 720-423-3098Denver, CO, Unknown Robocaller
7. Comcast Customer Service/Bill Collector, 800-266-2278, Debt Collector
8. Telemarketing, 720-573-7591, Denver, CO
9. Google Voice Call Answer, 720-307-1050 Denver, CO
10. 303-652-5868 Denver, CO, Unknown Robocaller

The index showed that residents in Baton Rouge were bombarded with robocalls last month, ranking No. 1 in the country at a staggering 58.4 robocalls per person. Washington, D.C. residents saw the second-highest number of calls at 51.6. Here are the 10 cities receiving the most calls per person.

1. Baton Rouge, LA — 58.4 robocalls per person
2. Washington, D.C. — 51.6 robocalls per person
3. Memphis, TN — 42.3 robocalls per person
4. Macon, GA — 37.4 robocalls per person
5. Lafayette, LA — 33.3 robocalls per person
6. Little Rock, AR — 33.3 robocalls per person
7. Birmingham, AL — 31.5 robocalls per person
8. Albany, GA — 31.5 robocalls per person
9. Las Vegas, NV — 31.2 robocalls per person
10. Shreveport, LA — 30.9 robocalls per person

YouMail says the nationwide rise coincides with a “search listing scam,” where robocallers dupe small business owners into giving up credit card information. The scammer promises to boost the business’ ranking in Google search listings.

And with more and more tax filers sending their returns to the IRS, don’t expect scam robocalls to decline anytime soon.

In fact, a new report from the data communication network company Transaction Network Services found that April 17, 2018 — Tax Day — saw more negative robocalls than any other day of the year. That month saw the highest volume of the year. The researchers noted that call spoofing — when scammers change their caller ID so they match your area code — remains the go-to tactic for bad actors. One in every 4,000 phone numbers was hijacked by a spoofer, the company found.

Bill Versen, chief product officer at the company, said consumers need to be “especially vigilant” as Tax Day approaches, and keep their guard up.

The FCC offers a few tips for those wanting to stop unwanted and illegal robocalls. Among them, don’t answer calls from unknown numbers, do not respond to questions — especially those that can be answered with “yes” — and never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers and mother’s maiden names.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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