The Lansing Journal has partnered with Stacker.com to provide in-depth features that may be of interest to our readers.
By Jill Jaracz
Unwanted calls are the most common complaint to the Federal Communication Commission. So far this year, people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have reported more than 41,000 unwanted calls.
Spam calls come in many forms, including robocalls that use automatic dialing software to quickly call a list of numbers and send a pre-recorded message or use an artificial voice to make their pitch. The robots are busy, too — the FCC notes that robocallers make about 4 billion calls a month.
Robocalls have become such a nuisance that many people have stopped answering their phones. This trend can have serious implications in the case of emergencies, as it could prevent people from getting critical information.
Consumers across the country who do report spam calls to the FCC complain most about live voice calls. However, spam texts increased by 25% from 2021 to 2022. In March 2023, the FCC released its first ruling designed to combat the rise of spam texts by targeting and eliminating illegal texts. The agency hopes this decreases the number of text-based scams and phishing schemes that unlawfully try to get information or money from people.
In partnership with Visible, Stacker analyzed the FCC’s Consumer Complaints data and ranked each state based on the least to the most spam calls received in 2023 so far. The data is self-reported and does not represent all spam calls. The number of spam calls reported per 100,000 residents determined the states’ ranking. The type of call (pre-recorded calls, live voice calls, or text messages) is listed when available. However, not all complaints included the call type, meaning percentages may not add up to 100.
For those trying to reduce the number of spam calls received, they can register their cell number with the FCC’s Do Not Call Registry. Being on the registry can lessen — but not necessarily eliminate — sales calls from legitimate companies. Non-sales calls from political organizations, charities, debt collectors, surveyors, and those containing information are still allowed to call.
The top ten states are listed below:
Ranking states by spam calls – top 10
#10. Washington
- 14 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 1,128
- Live voice: 375 (33.2% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 363 (32.2% of total)
- Text message: 139 (12.3% of total)
#9. Virginia
- 15 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 1,284
- Live voice: 417 (32.5% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 354 (27.6% of total)
- Text message: 180 (14.0% of total)
#8. California
- 15 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 5,834
- Live voice: 1893 (32.4% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 2081 (35.7% of total)
- Text message: 561 (9.6% of total)
#7. Alaska
- 15 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 110
- Live voice: 29 (26.4% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 49 (44.5% of total)
- Text message: 10 (9.1% of total)
#6. Massachusetts
- 15 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 1,080
- Live voice: 354 (32.8% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 455 (42.1% of total)
- Text message: 62 (5.7% of total)
#5. Nevada
- 18 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 563
- Live voice: 222 (39.4% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 158 (28.1% of total)
- Text message: 41 (7.3% of total)
#4. Maine
- 18 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 255
- Live voice: 123 (48.2% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 56 (22.0% of total)
- Text message: 17 (6.7% of total)
#3. Washington DC
- 20 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 134
- Live voice: 33 (24.6% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 45 (33.6% of total)
- Text message: 23 (17.2% of total)
#2. Illinois
- 20 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 2,512
- Live voice: 964 (38.4% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 1003 (39.9% of total)
- Text message: 161 (6.4% of total)
#1. Colorado
- 22 spam calls reported for every 100,000 residents
- Total spam calls reported so far in 2023: 1,272
- Live voice: 500 (39.3% of total)
- Pre-recorded: 376 (29.6% of total)
- Text message: 155 (12.2% of total)
Data reporting by Elena Cox. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.
This story originally appeared on Visible and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Thanks, Jill, for verifying what I thought was true! Great article.