Q3 report: In some countries, more of than half of unknown calls are spam

Which four countries have spam call rates exceeding 50%? What’s the most common phone scam in the UK? Which US state gets the most spam calls? 

You’ll find the answer to those questions and more in Hiya’s Q3 Global Call Threat Report. This is the fourth quarter in a row that Hiya has published the report, which  reveals spam and fraud rates in 39 countries worldwide, and details the types of scam calls that are the most prominent in select countries.

Download the Q3 2023 Global Call Threat Report

Key findings

In the third quarter of 2023, Hiya detected 6.55 billion spam calls worldwide. That’s more than 73 million unwanted calls every day. Globally, one-fourth of all unidentified calls are spam (either nuisance or fraud), and in some countries, more than half the unknown calls are spam. Here are other key findings from the report:

• Worldwide – Countries with the highest spam rates in the world in Q3 include: 

1. Chile – 57%
2. Indonesia – 56.5%
3. Argentina – 56% 
4. Hong Kong – 56%
5. Brazil – 46% 

• United States – In the US, 22.3% of unidentified calls were flagged as spam. Popular scams in Q3 include Google Business Profile scams, loved ones scams, and schemes targeting various payment app platforms.   
• United Kingdom – UK residents receive fewer spam calls per month than in the US (4 in UK vs. 11 in US), but the percentage of unwanted calls is higher in the UK. Common scams in the UK involve the country’s tax agency HMRC, energy cost-reduction scams, and free pension review schemes.
• Canada – Canadians receive half the amount of spam calls seen in the US: 4-5 per person per month in Canada compared to 11 per person per month in the US. Popular in Canada are Amazon scams, government official impersonators and air duct cleaning scams.

• Spain & France – Spain and France have the highest spam rates in Europe. Spain also has the third-highest rate of fraud in Europe. Package delivery scams are common in France and bank scams are prevalent in Spain.

• Germany – Germany’s spam rate is a little higher than the European average, but its residents get much fewer unwanted calls compared to other countries — just two per person per month. Germany experiences scams that are common worldwide, including PayPal scams, loved ones scams, and cryptocurrency scams. 

• Brazil – Brazilians endure an average of 26 spam calls per month, more than double the amount compared to the six countries mentioned above. Banking scams were by far the most common type of phone scam in Brazil in Q3.

Report includes spam rates in US states

For the second quarter in a row, Hiya included US state data in the Global Call Threat Report. The report identifies the top 10 states with the highest spam rates, as well as the 10 states with the least amount of spam.

This quarter, New Hampshire had the highest spam rate of any of the 50 states. Download the report to see which other states made the list. 

Methodology

Data in the Global Call Threat Report is based on a representative sample of calls observed during Q3 of 2023 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 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.

Download the report

Use the Global Call Threat Report to compare spam rates and fraud rates in the 39 countries tracked by Hiya. Charts in the report also break down spam and fraud rates by region, including Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region. You can download the report below.