US leads world in unwanted scam calls, emails and texts

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

HOW OFTEN DOES YOUR PHONE LIGHT UP WITH A SPAM CALL? NEW RESEARCH HAS REVEALED THAT AMERICANS RECEIVE FRAUDULANT OR SPAM MESSAGES TWICE AS MUCH AS OTHER COUNTRIES.

ACCORDING TO A POLL OF 10,500 ADULTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD BY PING IDENTITY, AMERICANS NAVIGATE 100 SCAM ENCOUNTERS EVERY MONTH THROUGH CALLS, EMAILS AND TEXT MESSAGES.

THOSE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM COME ACROSS 85 DIFFERENT SCAM ATTEMPTS, WHILE THOSE IN SINGAPORE ONLY ENCOUNTER 40 PER MONTH.

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH, THE SURVEY ALSO FOUND THAT THOSE IN THE U.S. AND THE U.K. HAVE AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 350 EMAILS IN THEIR SPAM INBOX RIGHT NOW.

AND EVEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA THEY CAN’T ESCAPE FRAUD. ACROSS THE GLOBE, PEOPLE AVERAGE FIVE WEEKLY SPAM MESSAGES ON THEIR SOCIAL CHANNELS.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? HOW OFTEN DO YOU COME ACROSS SPAM MESSAGES OR CALLS?

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 10,500 general population adults (2,000 U.S., 2,000 U.K., 1,000 France, 1,000 Germany, 1,000 Australia, 1,000 Singapore, 500 India, 500 Indonesia, 500 Netherlands, 500 Sweden, 500 UAE); the survey was commissioned by Ping Identity and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 28 and Aug. 11, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.