Consumer frustration with unwanted calls continues to increase year over year, as consumers say they receive an average of 7 unwanted calls per week, and 15% have lost money to phone scams in the past year.
Those are some of the findings from Hiya’s State of the Call 2026 report, which is based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany.
Hiya’s State of the Call 2026 report details 5 key findings. In this blog post we take a look at Key Finding #1: Consumer frustration with unwanted calls continues to increase. Future blog posts will highlight the other 4 findings.
Download the State of the Call 2026 report >
Why are consumers frustrated with their mobile phones?
One of the main frustrations consumers have with their mobile phones is the proliferation of unwanted calls. These range from nuisance telemarketing calls to phone scams intent on stealing money or personal information.
The prevalence of both fraud and nuisance calls has led to a lack of trust in phone calls in general. In fact, more than a third of respondents (34%) say their overall trust in phone calls has decreased, while only 16% say it has increased.
Phone spam is increasing
Furthermore, consumers believe that the amount of phone spam they receive is increasing. 39% of respondents said there has been more phone spam in the past year, while only 26% said there is less.
Consumers are losing significant amounts of money to phone scams
Consumers say they receive an average of 7 unwanted calls per week. Of course, the number of unwanted calls varies significantly by country, ranging from 4 calls per week in the UK to 12 calls per week in France.
There’s one statistic that hasn’t changed. This year, 15% of respondents said they lost money to a phone scam. That figure has remained constant the past 3 years, despite ongoing investments in voice security by mobile network operators and device manufacturers.
The amount of money lost to phone scams also varies by country. For respondents who said they lost money to a phone scam in the last year, shown below is the average amount lost.
“A scam call affected my elderly relative. They lost over $900 from their pension. It was very violating and completely wrong for someone to take advantage of someone who is so vulnerable.”
In addition to the 5 key findings, the report also makes a number of recommendations, both for mobile network operators who deliver the calls, and for businesses seeking to connect with their customers and prospects.
Recommendations for mobile network operators
- Add spam and fraud protection at the network level to protect subscribers
- Use AI-powered spam protection to fight back against AI-powered scams — including deepfake voice threats.
- Promote your spam protection services to your subscribers, as it is a key differentiator.
Recommendations for businesses
- Add branded caller ID so consumers will know exactly who is calling.
- Register your business numbers with mobile networks that deliver your calls.
- Protect against inbound call attacks by adding AI voice detection.
