Phone spam is a global problem, but each country experiences it differently — both in the volume of spam calls and the types of phone scams targeting citizens.
That was one of the findings in the just-published Global Call Threat Report, which reports data from the first half of 2024. The report reveals spam rates in more than 40 countries worldwide and details the most common scam calls in select countries. Read the report to discover:
- Number of spam calls per person per month in 40+ countries.
- Percentage of calls that are suspected to be fraud vs. nuisance.
- Detailed analysis of the US, UK, Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Brazil.
- Top scam calls in each of the seven countries mentioned above.
- Spam call comparisons by region.
- US states with the highest spam rates.
Download the H1 2024 Global Call Threat Report
Key findings
In the first half of 2024, Hiya flagged nearly 20 billion calls as suspected spam. That’s more than 107 million spam calls every day! Globally, more than one of every four unknown calls is unwanted. Of those unknown calls (calls coming from outside a person’s contact list) 22% were identified as nuisance and 7% were identified as fraud.
Worldwide, 29% of unknown calls are spam (22% nuisance and 7% fraud).
Other key findings include:
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Worldwide – Countries that received the most spam calls in the first half of 2024 included:
1. Brazil – 26 per person per month2. Chile – 23 per person per month
3. Hong Kong – 19 per person per month
4. Mexico – 17 per person per month
5. US – 14 per person per month
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United States – Although the US gets an above-average amount of unwanted calls (14/month), its rate of fraud (1%) is one of the lowest in the world. Most fraud calls are blocked before they reach consumers. The most common phone scams in the first half of the year were Medicare and health insurance scams.
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Canada – Canadians average only 4 spam calls per month — about a fourth of what Americans get. Amazon scams were the most common type of phone fraud in the first half of 2024.
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United Kingdom – A bit of good news for the UK: the number of spam calls per person per month dropped in the UK, from 4 to 3, compared to the first half of last year. Tax scams impersonating HMRC were the most common fraud call.
- Spain – Spaniards receive 12 unwanted calls per month, which is high compared to other European countries. In Spain, a high percentage of those unwanted calls (12%) are fraud calls. Calls about utilities and mobile phone plans are common.
- France – With 13 calls per person each month, French citizens receive about the same amount of spam calls as those in Spain, but France’s fraud rate is less than half of Spain’s. Calls from electricity suppliers, real and fabricated, are plentiful.
- Germany – Of the seven countries with detailed analysis in this report, Germany gets the fewest spam calls: just 2 per person each month. Sweepstakes scams continue to be the most common phone fraud in Germany.
- Brazil – Brazilians receive more spam calls than any of the 40+ countries in the report: 26 calls per month. That’s nearly one every single day, and 13% of those are fraud. Bank scams are by far the most popular scam in Brazil.
Methodology
Data in the Global Call Threat Report report is based on a representative sample of cells observed during the first half of 2024 on the Hiya Voice Security Network, which includes Samsung Smart Call enabled devices and the Hiya mobile app.
Spam is defined as unwanted calls, and includes both fraud calls and nuisance calls. The spam flag rate in this report represents calls that Hiya has identified and flagged as either “potential fraud” or “suspected spam.” Spam ratios represent the number of unwanted calls from non-contacts, which are calls placed from numbers that are not in an individual’s local address book.
Get the full report
Use the Global Call Threat Report to compare spam rates in more than 40 countries and learn more about the top phone scams in specific countries. Download your copy.
