By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Americans receive about 2.5 billion robocalls each month, a figure that is down slightly from 2025, but researchers say phone companies can and should be doing more and they are calling on the FCC to act.
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In the first half of 2025, Arizonans received about 210 million robocalls, according to the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (AZ PIRG), which tracks the data.
In the first six months of 2026, that number dropped by about 10 million. Researchers note, however, that roughly half of all robocalls are legitimate — alerts and reminders consumers have opted into, such as prescription notifications.
Scam calls carry a steep financial toll
The remaining calls include a significant number of scams. Experts say the average victim lost more than $3,500 to scam robocalls in 2025. Scam texts caused a separate average loss of nearly $1,500.
“Annoying,” said Donald, a Phoenix-area resident. “I have better things to do with my time.”
Deborah Adams described the calls as “irritating,” adding, “I don’t want them. I don’t need them.”
Charles Wilmer said he receives eight to 10 robocalls a day or more.
FCC enforcement called insufficient
Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director with AZ PIRG, said federal regulators have not done enough to address the problem.
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“The FCC has not been nearly as aggressive enough,” Murray said.
Congress passed a law requiring phone companies to install robocall-blocking software. The requirement took effect in 2021. As of late last year, fewer than half of the roughly 9,200 companies registered with the FCC had complied.
Murray said the current robocall volume has returned to pre-legislation levels.
“The biggest way that we’re going to accomplish anything is if the AT&Ts, the Verizons, the T-Mobiles, the Spectrums, the Comcasts — if they start being afraid of the FCC, then we will see a difference,” Murray said.
The Joint Economic Committee has requested detailed information from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon on their robocall-blocking efforts. A committee representative said the inquiry is ongoing.
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