FCC data reveals just how many potentially fraudulent phone calls happen during the typical workday. The deluge of daytime spam calls leaves Americans wary of picking up potentially important phone calls from a number they may not recognize. In 2020, Pew Research found that 81% of Americans don't answer their phone for an unknown number.

The FCC telemarketing rule that good faith marketers can only make outbound, unsolicited calls between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time partially influences the height of daytime spam calls. What is new in recent years is the sheer volume of spam calls Americans receive.

The constant barrage of unsolicited calls is taking a mental toll on Americans. That's because someone isn't targeted just once or twice in their lifetime anymore. Today, an American might be the target of several potential scammers in the same week, and simply ignoring them does not improve the likelihood of receiving another call. Additionally, SMS phishing, or "smishing," is on the rise, with Robokiller reporting that American phone users received over 87 billion spam texts in 2021, up 58% from the previous year.

That said, there are signs the problem is improving, and the FCC has made it a top priority to combat the general influx. In a 2023 press release, the FCC stated it blocked 99% of auto warranty scam robocalls. It also expects telephone providers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to do what they can to reduce these kinds of calls.

In July 2023, the FCC announced a nationwide crackdown on unwanted spam calls and telemarketing scams. Operation Stop Scam Calls is a combined effort from the FTC and more than 100 federal and state agencies. The crackdown scrutinizes Voice over Internet Protocol service providers—software-based tools that allow multiple users to share the same phone number and make international calls look like they're coming from the U.S.

Consumers can visit the FCC's guide for blocking unwanted phone calls, add their number to the national Do Not Call Registry to help prevent telemarketers from reaching out, and report any unwanted robocalls to the FCC. Many phone service providers also have their own robocall filtering app or service, such as AT&T's ActiveArmor.

Story editing by Shannon Luders-Manuel. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.