Work is underway to reduce the volume of nuisance and malicious phone calls in the UK. For example, Ofcom updated its rules to require all mobile and landline networks to identify and block spoofed calls from May 2023, where technically feasible.
But it remains to be seen how successfully the regulator can monitor the effectiveness and consistency of these changes. And for now at least, spammers and scammers continue to blight the public.
Data from Unknownphone.com – a website for reporting unwanted calls – said it registered 5.5 million unsolicited calls in 2023, while data from around 10,000 trueCall users shows that vulnerable people received an average of 13 calls in the worst months of last year.
Read on to take a closer look at the data and find out how you can stop nuisance callers in their tracks.
Cold calling trends and statistics
Scam calls accounted for around half of all unsolicited phone calls reported to Unknownphone.com (to its website and Call Blocker app for iOS and Android). Sales calls were the second most common, accounting for 30% of the total, while surveys and debt collection calls made up the remainder.
The most common nuisance calling topics collated by call blocking device provider trueCall in 2023 were:
Unknownphone.com says the late afternoon, from 3pm to 6pm, is prime time for nuisance calls, suggesting spammers look to target people during core working hours. There’s also a spike from noon to 1pm.
Seasonal trends emerge when you look at monthly volumes of nuisance or unwanted phone calls.
February saw a spike in average nuisance calls received by trueCall users, reaching 12.9 for vulnerable users and 7.7 for standard users. Both datasets point to an increase in activity from August – Unknownphone.com said marketing and scamming activities may increase during warmer months when people might be more relaxed and potentially less vigilant.
The upward trend continued into the autumn, with October and November seeing the highest volumes of cold calls reported to Unknownphone.com at 9.58% and 10.42%. The lead-up to the holiday season marks a popular time to be targeted by marketers and scammers, though trueCall told us that December tends to be a quiet month because call centres know they aren't likely to succeed if they disturb people during their Christmas break.
Top cold calling area codes and mobile networks in 2023
London (020) has been the epicentre of spam traffic for years and was responsible for over 15% of cold calls in 2023, but Greater Manchester (0161) is an increasingly notable contributor, accounting for 6.42% of cold calls, up from only 3.35% in 2021.
Leeds takes third place with 2.51%, overtaking cities with larger populations such as Birmingham and Glasgow, suggesting it may have a higher concentration of call centres.
Data on mobile networks involved in spam calls reveals that telecom giants Sky (area code 07359) and Three (area code 07477) are at the forefront, each accounting for 0.55% of total spam calls. However, smaller networks like Vectone and Citrus rank in the top eight, with 0.47% and 0.44% respectively.
5 ways to stop nuisance calls and avoid phone scams
Register your numberHome phone call blocking Mobile phone call blocking Call 159 to stop bank scams Don’t trust caller IDsource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/uk-cold-call-hotspots-revealed-aqEfB8H6Kxrx