Image of a person using a cell phone. (Photo by Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images) Robocalls are at an all-time high, following a brief downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to organizations tracking them.Lee Williams, a California resident, said he's felt as if the calls have been endless: "There was a time when I would get 20 to 30 in a 24-hour period."He said he once depended on his phone provider to fix the issue. "They came out with what they call a 'spam blocker.' So, you’ll get a call, and it’ll say ‘spam likely’ but, I’ve found that probably a bit over 50% of those calls that were identified as scammers were actually calls you needed to receive.
Family members that may not have been on your contact list or your doctor’s office," he said. A person takes a call in their home. (Photo by Roland Weihrauch/picture alliance via Getty Images) He said he downloaded an app to help screen calls more in-depth, but he still has received daily robocalls.According to YouMail’s nationwide robocall tracker, such calls jumped by over 600 million from February to March.
Sandra Guile with the Better Business Bureau said it's because of the pandemic. "When everybody was on lockdown and everybody was isolated, there was actually a dip in the amount of robocalls.
Then, as things started to open up a little bit, that number went back up" Guile said. The Better Business Bureau has tracked scams such as those linked to robocalls.