Global Spam Calls Hit 85 Billion in 2018

Global spam calls have soared by 325% over 2018 to reach a staggering 85 billion worldwide, according to new findings from Hiya. The Caller ID company claimed in its first Global Robocall Radar report that spam rates in Spain (24%), the UK (22%), Italy (21%) and France (20%) are the highest in the world. These are more than mere nuisance calls: Hiya claimed that they can expose victims to serious fraud attempts. The top four types of voice spam campaign listed include bank account scams in which the caller pretends to be a representative of the recipient’s bank with the aim of gaining account details, and “neighbor scams” in which the caller pretends to be a nearby friend or business, aided by VoIP software that spoofs their phone numbers. The wangiri or one-ring scam sees the fraudsters call just once and in so doing entice users into calling back to premium rate international numbers owned by the scammer. Some robocalls even demand payment from random phone users for the return of a ‘kidnapped’ family member or friend.