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Data shows Tampa is among worst cities for robocalls

Published  June 14, 2019 7:33pm EDT
News
FOX 13 Tampa Bay

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Robocalls and phone scams are annoying and seem to be more frequent with every passing day.

Statistics provided by YouMail, a robocall blocking service, suggests that Tampa is a hotbed for robocalls. The city ranks 18 out of 100 cities nationwide.

"One of the big things about Tampa is that, on average, you're getting about 20 to 21 robocalls per person, per month. You are getting a decent amount more than average. The average person is getting about 14 to 15 a month, so that's why you're ranked highly," said Alex Quilici, the CEO of YouMail.​​​​​​"Tampa is experiencing what everybody in the U.S. is experiencing which is that robocalls have more than doubled in the past couple years."

Numbers show that phones in Tampa have received nearly 250 million robocalls so far this year. Those numbers far surpass the total of calls received back in 2016.

For residents, the numbers aren't shocking. ​​​​​​

"I've had times with my old phone number that I've had to erase up to 100 phone calls a day," Tampa resident Tawn Myers said.

"It would not surprise me. Just based on the demographics of the community, taking advantage of older people like me, I block constantly the calls, and still they manage to come through every day," resident John Roberts said.

Even law enforcement agencies are seeing an impact.

"We frequently have people reach out to the sheriff's office saying, 'Hey, I got this call and something just doesn't seem right about it,'" said Crystal Clark with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

So, how can you combat this growing issue?

"If you get a call that you think could be a scam, you can reach out to the [Federal Trade Commission] and file a complaint. They do post all of those complaints online," said Clark. 　

Taking proactive measures before the calls come in can also make a difference.

"Every consumer needs a robocall-blocking app on their phone in the same way you're running antivirus on you computers," said Quilici.

The Federal Communications Commission also announced last week that it is now legal for phone companies to block robocalls before they get to customers. It's a step in the right direction, but experts said it could be awhile before the new polices are implemented.