Tax Day 2018 Was Highest Robocall Volume Day

February 7th, 2019 - Telecom, Identity and Protection

TNS analyzed robocall data from more than 1 billion daily call events across hundreds of carriers to identify robocall tactics and trends from 2018

Tax Day (April 17, 2018) saw more negative robocalls than any other day of the year, and April was the highest volume month of 2018 — according to comprehensive data analysis released by Transaction Network Services, Inc. (TNS).

Call spoofing also remains a preferred tactic for bad actors, as 1 in every 4,000 mobile device numbers was hijacked by a spoofer and 1 in 5 people disconnected their phone after their number was hijacked.

Nearly 143 million nuisance and high-risk calls were placed on Tax Day 2018, as scammers often pose as the IRS in an attempt to trick taxpayers into providing money or personal information. TNS drew from over 1 billion daily call events across hundreds of carriers and integrated a vast amount of evidence from TNS’ network traffic to deliver an objective, first-hand view of robocalling, spamming and spoofing. Additional TNS 2018 robocall ‘highs and lows’ data findings include:

• Tuesday was the highest volume day of the week, with 15% of the negative calls occurring on this day. Sunday is the lowest volume day, at 5% of the negative calls.
• April was the highest volume month of the year, with 10% of of the negative calls occuring during this month. December was the lowest volume month with 6% percent of the negative calls.
• South Carolina received more negative robocalls than any other state (followed by North Carolina and Georgia).
• San Diego, California received more negative robocalls in 2018 than any other city, while the Georgia (706) area code was the most heavily targeted area code for negative robocalls.
• Kansas City, Kansasoriginated more negative robocalls in 2018 than any other city, followed by Richmond Hill, Georgia and San Francisco, California.

“Consumers should be especially vigilant as we approach tax season, but given the fact that nuisance robocall volume increased 13% in 2018 it is important to never let your guard down when callers are asking for personal information,” said Bill Versen, Chief Product Officer at Transaction Network Services. “There is good news on the horizon in 2019 however, as government, carrier and industry efforts – such as STIR/SHAKEN and analytics solutions – will offer better protection for consumers and businesses negatively impacted by robocalls.”