State of the Call 2026 - Detailed Data and Insights
March 2, 2026
I was scammed and it made me ill due to the loss of funds. It is impossible for me to make up the money lost. The scammer was very good and I was taken in. It made me feel ashamed and vulnerable that I did not recognize the scam until it was too late. It would be a great benefit if scam calls could be done away with somehow.
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Executive Summary
Source: December 2025 survey of 12,009 consumers across the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain. See more methodology details in Appendix.
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1. Scourge of Scam / Spam Calls
A scam call affected my elderly relative, they lost over $900 from their pension because they thought they were going to be in trouble with the law about a bench warrant from a traffic violation from 10 years ago. It was very violating and completely wrong for someone to do to someone who is vulnerable.
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The average number of unwanted calls on American consumers’ mobile phones have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 16% since 2023. In 2025, consumers received over 500 unwanted calls per year.
How many unwanted calls do you receive per week, if any?
Average of 9.9 unwanted calls/week
n=2003. Average was calculated as a weighted mean. Responses were coded as: “Never”=0, “Less than weekly”=0, “Up to 5”=3, “6–10”=8, “11–15”=13, “16–20”=18, and “More than 20”=23.
USA | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Less than weekly | 14% | 13% | 8% |
Up to 5 | 12% | 9% | 28% |
6-10 | 37% | 37% | 22% |
11-15 | 14% | 15% | 13% |
16-20 | 10% | 11% | 9% |
More than 20 | 2% | 2% | 17% |
Never | 12% | 14% | 2% |
Average # of unwanted calls/week | 7.3 | 7.6 | 9.9 |
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On a global basis, unwanted calls are growing as well at a similar CAGR of 16%. In 2025, it equates to nearly 400 unwanted calls per year per person.
How many unwanted calls do you receive per week, if any?
n=12009. Average was calculated as a weighted mean. Responses were coded as: “Never”=0, “Less than weekly”=0, “Up to 5”=3, “6–10”=8, “11–15”=13, “16–20”=18, and “More than 20”=23.
*Countries included: USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain
Globally | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Less than weekly | 21% | 16% | 14% |
Up to 5 | 14% | 12% | 32% |
6-10 | 33% | 37% | 24% |
11-15 | 11% | 13% | 15% |
16-20 | 5% | 7% | 7% |
More than 20 | 1% | 1% | 6% |
Never | 16% | 15% | 2% |
Average # of unwanted calls per week | 5.5 | 6.4 | 7.4 |
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In 2025, French consumers received the most unwanted calls, but British consumers lost the most money to phone scams.
Number of unwanted calls per week and average scam loss in past 12 months by Country
My father is elderly and gets so many on his phone. it is ringing all the time. He has gotten to where he doesn't answer it a lot so he misses calls and people have to contact me in order to reach him.
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n=12009. Used February 13, 2026 FX rate to convert currencies to USD.
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Nearly half of Americans believe phone spam is getting worse. The ratio of those reporting an increase in phone spam to those reporting a decrease is almost 3:1 (48% vs. 17%).
How, if at all, has phone spam changed for you in the last 12 months, versus the prior 12 months?
48% reported an increase
17% reported a decrease
I went through a period of getting spam calls every few minutes. I used my phone for work and I couldn’t do what I needed to do because my phone was constantly ringing.
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n=2003. “N/A” excluded.
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2. Unwanted Call Threat Escalating
Constant spam calls at night disrupted my sleep escalated my annoyance and left me feeling powerless.
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1 in 4 Americans have received an AI deepfake call, and another 24% cannot even tell if they have.
Have you knowingly received a deepfake voice call in the past 12 months?
25% Have Received a Deepfake Voice Call
My 90-year-old mother received a scam call with a deepfake voice of her grandson asking for money, claiming he was in jail. She didn't give the money. My sister was there, and they didn't fall for it. However, my Mom was so shaken up by the call and sure it was her grandson's voice, that she refused to answer the phone unless someone was there with her for many months. It took a lot of reassurance that it hadn't been her grandson on the phone before she finally believed it.
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n=2003
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Americans are nearly twice as likely to say scammers are winning over carriers (38% vs. 21%).
Who, if anyone, do you think is currently winning: mobile carriers trying to protect people from deepfake phone scams, or the scammers using deepfakes?
n=1661, ‘I don’t know’ excluded.
81% More Consumers Believed Scammers are Beating MNO’s
I was scammed and it made me ill due to the loss of funds. It is impossible for me to make up the money lost. The scammer was very good and I was taken in. It made me feel ashamed and vulnerable that I did not recognize the scam until it was too late. It would be a great benefit if scam calls could be done away with somehow.
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In America, every age group is vulnerable to deepfake voice scams. The oldest and youngest are believed to be the most vulnerable at 4.5 and 4.2, respectively.
How vulnerable, if at all, do you believe each of the following age groups are to deepfake voice scams?
A friend got a call that her grandson was in trouble and needed money. Fortunately she checked with her daughter about it and figured out it was a scam. I think it’s terrible that scammers target the elderly.
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Not vulnerable at all’ and 5 is ‘Very vulnerable’.
4.2
3.7
3.6
4.2
4.5
Avg:
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3. Cost to Consumers is Real
A relative was scammed out of $2500, the caller number was a bank number. It's frustrating you can’t trust anyone.
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Unwanted calls tax Americans’ time every week, robbing them of an entire workday each year.
How much time, if any, have you spent in the past week screening unwanted calls?
n=2003.
Time spent screening unwanted calls in past week | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Less than 5 min | 9% | 8% | 33% |
5-10 min | 37% | 38% | 23% |
11-15 min | 16% | 14% | 13% |
16-20 min | 12% | 11% | 8% |
21-25 min | 6% | 4% | 4% |
26-30 min | 5% | 5% | 3% |
More than 30 min | 1% | 0% | 6% |
None | 15% | 19% | 10% |
Average time in minutes | 10.0 | 9.3 | 9.4 |
Average of 9.4 minutes / week
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1 in 12 Americans lost money to a phone scam in the last year. The average loss to a phone scam was $682; however, 12% lost more than $1,000.
Have you lost money to a phone scam in the last year?
In total, how much money did you lose in the past 12 months because of phone scams?
Graph 1. n=2003. Graph 2. n=151, those who have lost money to a phone scam in the last year. Average total money lost was calculated as a weighted mean among respondents who reported a loss amount. Each range was coded using the midpoint of the range. For example:: Up to $50=25; $51–$100=75.50; etc. “More than $5,000”= answers to open-text responses that were factored in. “I don’t know” and “Prefer not to say” were excluded.
$682 was the average loss
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Phone scams hit Americans 55+ hardest, with average losses of $1,298, triple those of younger adults.
In total, how much money did you lose in the past 12 months because of phone scams?
n=59/37/18/37. Average total money lost was calculated as a weighted mean among respondents who reported a loss amount. Each range was coded using its midpoint: Up to $50=25; $51–$100=75.50; etc. “More than $5,000”=answers to open-text responses that were factored in. “I don’t know” and “Prefer not to say” were excluded from the calculation.
Avg: $423
Avg: $507
Avg: $705
Avg: $1298
19%
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4. Collapsing Trust in Voice Calls
HMRC [UK tax authority] fake call. I felt threatened and upset. It made me learn a lesson not to trust any calls anymore.
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Unknown calls are effectively dead on arrival. 84% of Americans reject or ignore them.
When you receive a call from a number you don't recognize, what is your default action?
n=2003.
84%
I ignore unidentified calls.
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Missing unidentified legitimate healthcare providers calls causes the most frustration in America.
Unidentified calls rarely get answered. What types of calls have caused you the most frustration because you did not answer their unidentified call, if any?*
n=2003. *33% of respondents reported that “No unidentified calls caused frustration,” which is not displayed in chart above..
As I’m very mistrustful, I only answer calls I can be sure they are real, thus, I have missed out on some important information or calls…
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5. Consumers Expect MNO Protections
It made me feel sad and that the phone company I'm with should do more to prevent these calls.
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An overwhelming 9 out of 10 Americans agree that businesses should identify themselves on caller ID.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Businesses should identify themselves in caller ID when they call me."
n=2003.
90% agree
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Older Americans demand business caller ID most strongly.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Businesses should identify themselves in caller ID when they call me."
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘Strongly agree’.
4.2
Avg:
4.4
4.5
4.7
9%
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While European sentiment is mixed, business caller ID is effectively a requirement for North American consumers, with the US showing the highest demand globally.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Businesses should identify themselves in caller ID when they call me."
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘Strongly agree’.
2.8
3.9
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.6
I don't answer my phone unless the contact is in my phone or I am expecting a call from a specific company. I expect their name to show on Caller ID.
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86% of Americans say it's important or extremely important that carriers screen spam and deepfake calls.
86%
How important, if at all, is it to you that your mobile carrier can screen out spam calls, including deepfake calls?
n=2003.
Extremely unimportant
Unimportant
Neither important nor unimportant
Important
Extremely important
If my carrier knows they are spam, these places should be identified and the people imprisoned.
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Outside of France, a supermajority of consumers believe that it’s important that their mobile carrier can screen out spam calls, including deepfake calls.
How important, if at all, is it to you that your mobile carrier can screen out spam calls, including deepfake calls?
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘Strongly agree’.
2.7
3.9
4.1
4.2
4.3
Avg:
4.3
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Protection from spam and deepfake scam calls is a meaningful consideration when Americans evaluate staying or switching mobile carriers with 37% ranking it amongst the top few or the #1 factor.
37%
When you think about staying with or switching mobile carriers, how big a factor, if at all, is protection from spam calls and deepfake scam calls compared with things like price, coverage, and data speed?
n=2003.
It is not a factor at all
It is a minor factor
It is important, but not a top factor
It is one of the top few factors
It is the number one factor
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Furthermore, if Americans believed that their wireless carrier wasn’t doing enough to stop spam and deepfake scams, 38% of them say they’d be likely to switch.
38%
If you felt your mobile carrier was not doing enough to protect you from spam calls and deepfake phone scams, how likely or unlikely would you be to switch to a different mobile carrier?
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Extremely unlikely’ and 5 is ‘Extremely likely’. The graph shows Overall data, TOP-3 MNOs + Other.
Extremely unlikely
Unlikely
Neither likely nor unlikely
Likely
Extremely likely
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6. Looming Regulatory, and Financial Liability Pressures
It made me angry at the whole situation and at the network providers for not doing a better job at screening calls.
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Americans most often say MNOs should be primarily responsible for stopping phone scams and deepfake scams (37%), ahead of government or regulators (21%).
Who, if anyone, do you think should be most responsible for stopping phone scams and deepfake phone scams before they reach people like you?
n=2003.
A client was recently victim of a sim swap and as a result lost close to 100K in investments. Made me angry that there were so many failures by mobile carrier and bank for not being more vigilant when there were clear signs suspicious activity and ultimately they said we can't do anything about it!
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#1
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Across countries, a majority of consumers believe that the primary entity most responsible for stopping phone scams and deepfake phone scams before they reach people are mobile carriers or phone service providers.
Who, if anyone, do you think should be most responsible for stopping phone scams and deepfake phone scams before they reach people like you? | USA | Canada | France | Germany | Spain | UK |
Mobile carriers or phone service providers | 37% | 34% | 24% | 37% | 32% | 42% |
Banks or financial institutions | 2% | 5% | 16% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
Government or regulators | 21% | 20% | 21% | 15% | 36% | 14% |
Technology companies that provide phones, apps, or online services | 18% | 17% | 23% | 18% | 19% | 23% |
People themselves | 13% | 13% | 14% | 18% | 5% | 8% |
Other, please specify | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
No one in particular | 10% | 10% | 2% | 8% | 3% | 10% |
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n=2003.
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Nearly 3 in 4 Americans support stronger regulations to protect consumers from phone scams.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Mobile carriers should be subject to stronger regulations to protect customers from phone scams."
n=2003.
72%
I had call that popped up as being from my financial institution and the person on the other side pretended to be from their fraud protection department. Ended up being fraud…It angered me...
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Aside from France, the majority agree with the statement that “Mobile carriers should be subject to stronger regulations to protect customers from phone scams.”
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Mobile carriers should be subject to stronger regulations to protect customers from phone scams."
My father in law said that he got a call from a person claiming to be from his cellphone company and got him to pay a bill. They took information and was able to remove money from his account, a lot more than what the payment was and the bank tracked it down and reimbursed his money but the fraudulent call should have never gotten through to him.
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘Strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘Strongly agree’.
2.7
3.7
3.9
4.0
4.0
Avg:
4.3
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67% of Americans believe that carriers should cover scam losses on their networks. 1 in 8 think that their mobile carrier should fully reimburse the loss if the scam started on their mobile phone.
26%
If you lost money to a phone scam that started with a call or text to your mobile phone, how much responsibility, if any, should your mobile carrier have for covering your loss?
n=2003.
None — my mobile carrier should not be responsible at all
A little — my mobile carrier should cover a small part
Some — my mobile carrier should share the loss about equally
Most — my mobile carrier should cover most of the loss
All — my mobile carrier should fully reimburse the loss
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55% of Americans agree that MNOs should offer zero-liability fraud protection like credit cards offer if they lose money to a phone scams that reached them via their wireless carrier.
55%
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "Mobile carriers should offer zero-liability fraud protection like credit cards do, so that if you lose money to a phone scam that reached you through their network, the carrier reimburses you."
n=2003.
Strongly disagree
Somewhat disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Somewhat agree
Strongly agree
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Outside US, 75%+ expect mobile carrier financial liability if a scam originated on their network.
If you lost money to a phone scam that started with a call or text to your mobile phone, how much responsibility, if any, should your mobile carrier have for covering your loss?
n=2003. Averages were calculated using the scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘None’ and 5 is ‘All’.
2.6
2.7
2.5
2.9
3.1
Avg:
2.8
We need more accountability from telephone providers and more protective [measures] in place given at no extra charge to mobile customers.
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Wrap-Up
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Wrap-up
I would say even though I personally ignore them, the constant barrage of sophisticated scam calls makes me feel anxious, and it's frustrating to know that vulnerable people are [losing] their life savings through a network they pay to keep them safe.
-Survey respondent
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Thank You / Contact
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appendix
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Methodology
All insights and data were collected via an anonymous online survey. Survey was conducted during the following time frame along with associated sample size and margin of error.
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