Calls from unknown numbers are useless (no one picks up anymore)

© Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels

While 64% of French people still report receiving unwanted calls hidden behind an unknown or hidden number, a report from Arcep gives a warning to abusive telephone canvassing operations. This technique, as old as the integration of a frame into calls transmitting metadata such as the caller's number, no longer seems to encourage the targeted people to drop out at all.

It must be said that the volume of these calls has, it seems, only increased in recent years, with the other drinking wire 24% of those contacted claiming to receive this type of call “every day” when 25% reveal they receive this type of canvassing in the form of SMS every day or almost. Arcep points out that 27% of people surveyed see this practice as one of the most annoying.

Classic telephone canvassing no longer seems very effective

However, those concerned are no longer very receptive to this type of practice. Because according to the study, 33% of respondents never respond to these calls, while 32% say they do so rarely. and only 27% “sometimes” – a total of 92% who generally do not answer when the caller's number is unknown. The statistic is not new, but the positive thing is that the figure is up 2 points from one year to the next.

Which contributes to fatigue, transmitters of this type of communications ? Without doubt : 54% of people receiving these calls then block the number. While 30% then search the number on Google to find out if it is spam rather than calling back. As a result, the number of frauds reported by respondents is decreasing: 60% in 2023 compared to 65% in 2022. The study also seems to point to the start of a drop in the frequency of these calls.

Operators, but also phone manufacturers, contribute to making the practice less profitable for sponsors. We find a jumble of applications like Orange Telephone, or native solutions integrated into iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel, among others. It remains to be seen what still pushes players to massively opt for this type of canvassing – increasingly heavily regulated, and outlawed in many cases.

Especially since other forms of abusive communication are also emerging on the side of alternative messaging applications, notably WhatsApp – where fraudsters add entire listings to groups to better sell dubious financial advice, or carry out pyramid scams, among others.

• A study by Arcep shows that telephone canvassing leads to new behaviors on the part of subscribers.
• A growing proportion does not responds more to these calls, when it is not a question of outright blocking the number in question.
• Operators and manufacturers of smartphones provide solutions for increasingly effective in reporting and blocking unknown numbers.

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