Scammers favor texts over phone calls, study says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the second year in a row, the company behind an app aimed at blocking unwanted calls and texts say scammers are using text messages more than phone calls.

Last year, RoboKiller counted 72 billion robocalls and 87 billion robotexts over the same time period.

Giulia Porter is vice president of Teltech, which created RoboKiller. She says from 2020 to 2021, robocalls were up more than 30% while robotexts jumped 58%.

Porter believes there are two reasons behind the shift to robotexts.

“First, people have been receiving spam calls for a long time. They are sick of them. They don’t want to answer the phone anymore. And, of course, scammers are smart, and they are pivoting to try to find new ways to steal from people over the phone,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

Porter says the second reason is millennials.

“I’m sure you know if you have ever interacted with a millennial, it’s definitely harder to get them on a phone call than it is to just text them,” Porter said.

Stoogenke spoke to college students who agree.

“I think our generation would rather send a text then call someone,” student Courtney Liles said.

“It’s like whack-a-mole. You got to keep blocking them over and over, and over again,” Dan Sullivan said.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says robocalls and texts are the No. 1 consumer complaint his office receives. Stein has taken a lot of actions involving this issue, including suing a company that he says facilitated illegal scam calls.

“There are other middlemen, just like this company that we are investigating. We’re working with other states to investigate and our federal partners,” he said.

(WATCH: Robotexts on the rise as regulators crack down on robocalls)