Robocalls Fall Victim To Coronavirus In NH

CONCORD, NH — If you’re wondering why your phone is ringing a little less during the weeks you've spent social distancing and in self-quarantine, that’s not a coincidence. And we have coronavirus to thank for that.

The number of robocalls received in New Hampshire declined significantly in April, according to the YouMail Robocall Index, which tracks automated calls received in U.S. cities, area codes and states.

Granite State residents received 7 million robocalls in April, or about 5.7 calls per person. That’s a 33 percent drop in total calls from March and a 46 percent drop from February, when nearly 12.9 million calls were placed to state residents.

Nationwide, Americans received just under 2.9 billion robocalls in April, or an average of 8.7 calls per person. About 95.4 million robocalls were made each day, which drills down to 4 million per hour or 1,100 per second.

That still seems like a lot of calls, but April's figures represented a 30 percent decrease in robocalls from March and a nearly 50 percent drop from October's monthly peak of 5.7 billion calls.

Why the sharp drop? Typically, decreases in robocalls can be attributed to federal enforcement efforts resulting in call centers being shut down, according to Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail.

In this case, though, the coronavirus pandemic has forced call centers worldwide to close or operate on a dramatically reduced scale. This means fewer payment reminders, telemarketing calls and other automated alerts.

"However, as social distancing slows down and the economies rev back up, we should expect robocalls to again increase,” Quilici said.

In April, telemarketing calls dropped by 52 percent, payment reminders by 36 percent and other alerts and reminders by 27 percent. Illegal and spam robocalls also decreased 21 percent, though the category still made up the largest share of automated calls last month at 45 percent.

The cities with the highest volumes of robocalls in April were similar to past months, according to the index. Those cities were:

1. Atlanta: 120,095,300 calls, a decrease of 28 percent from March
2. Dallas: 107,794,800 calls, a decrease of 25 percent from March
3. Houston: 88,142,100 calls, a decrease of 24 percent from March
4. Los Angeles: 82,242,900 calls, a decrease of 36 percent from March
5. Chicago: 81,845,000 calls, a decrease of 31 percent from March
6. New York: 80,450,300 calls, a decrease of 35 percent
7. Baltimore: 61,012,800 calls, a decrease of 30 percent from March
8. Phoenix: 59,660,100 calls, a decrease of 30 percent from March
9. Newark: 52,735,500 calls, a decrease of 29 percent from March
10. San Francisco Bay Area: 48,713,500 calls, a decrease of 32 percent from March

The city with the most robocalls per person was Washington, D.C. YouMail estimates each resident received an average of 27 calls in April.

In January, President Donald Trump signed into law legislation aimed at cracking down on annoying and illegal robocalls. The bipartisan legislation expanded the power of the Federal Communications Commission to deter spam calls, and it reinforced the responsibility of individual phone companies to protect their own consumers.

You can also take matters into your own hands. If you’d prefer to not receive robocalls at all, several apps exist to block the calls on your mobile phones. These apps include:

• Nomorobo
• Hiya
• RoboKiller
• Call Control Home
• Trucaller
• Trapcall
• Sentry 3.1
• CPR Call Blocker
• Digitone Pro Series Call Blocker

Here are some strategies to keep in mind if you receive a robocall:

• Be leery about anyone calling on the phone about any emergency. Get a phone number to call back, and verify the whereabouts and safety of the person the call is about.

• Never give out Social Security, Medicare or financial account information over the phone.

• In general, avoid answering calls from numbers you don't recognize.

• Don't confirm any personal information. Avoid saying "yes" to any question, as calls may be recorded and the answer can be used as consent for a purchase you didn't request.

• Don't press any numbers to stop calls. That will likely increase the number of robocalls you get, having signaled to the scammers they've reached an active number.

• Change your voicemail message so it doesn't reveal your name or other personal information. If you want a legitimate caller to know they've reached you, go ahead and put your phone number on the message.

• Don't return calls that claim to be from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, your bank or a local police or sheriff's department. If you think the message is legitimate, don't return the number left on a voicemail. Instead, look up the legitimate phone number.

• Register both your landline and your cell phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry.

• Report robocalls and other unwanted calls with the FTC, by phone at 888-382-1222 or 877-382-4357, or online.