2026 Phone Scam Statistics From Real Complaint Data

These phone scam statistics show something changed in August. The Scam Exposed database, which tracks phone numbers, emails and websites reported by real people, had been logging a slow, steady trickle of complaints all year, and then that trickle turned into a flood. Here is what the numbers actually show, and why the jump matters.

Editor's note: the August number surprised me too, so before publishing this I re-ran the count against the raw database twice to be sure it was not a mistake. It was not, the jump is real, according to Nitesh

August 2026 in one chart

Bars are colored by size, the darker the red, the more complaints that month logged.

A jump like this almost always means one of two things: either a single operation ran a mass-calling campaign that month, or more people simply started reporting numbers they used to ignore. Either way, August 2026 is now the loudest single month in this data.

Where the risk sits right now

Of the 136,733 numbers tracked here, 19,638 carry the highest risk flag. Another 117,100 sit at a caution level. Exactly one number in the whole database currently rates as low risk, which says a lot about how skewed this data set is toward numbers people are actively warning each other about.

What is actually calling people

Debt reduction and credit relief calls lead by a wide margin: 27,415 numbers, 66,721 complaints, more than double the next category. These are the calls promising to lower a credit card or student loan payment in exchange for an upfront fee or account access. Government or business impersonation comes next, then dropped or silent calls, then medical and prescription pitches.

Nearly every complaint here is about phone calls

Of the 301,840 total complaints in this database, 301,832 are tied to phone numbers. Website and email complaints make up a tiny fraction by comparison, which reflects both real world scam volume and how people currently report problems, mostly by number.

Common questions

Why did complaints spike so hard in August?
It cannot be said for certain from the numbers alone. It usually points to either a single large calling operation or a rise in how many people bothered to report a number instead of ignoring it.

Does a high complaint count prove a number is illegal?
No. A complaint means someone reported unwanted contact. It is not legal proof of wrongdoing on its own.

Where does this data come from?
The FTC Do Not Call complaint data set, plus reports readers submit directly on this site, current as of September 2026.

Methodology

These figures come directly from The Scam Exposed's own complaint database as of September 2026. Numbers are counted only where a listing has been published after review. Category totals reflect standardized groupings of user submitted categories that describe the same type of call.

For official guidance on reporting scam calls, see the Federal Trade Commission fraud reporting page.

Check any number against this data at thescamexposed.com/lookup.