Research by Community CallBLOCKER, a new service which allows victims of nuisance calls to block unwanted numbers, record and share them with the CallBLOCKING Community, reveals that Birmingham is the nuisance call hotpot in the UK. Community CallBLOCKER commissioned YouGov to find out the extent of the nuisance call epidemic across the nation.

Highlights for Birmingham include:

  •         73% of people in Birmingham are receiving up to 15 nuisance calls a week
  •         1 in 10 people receive 10 – 15 calls a week
  •         4% are receiving more than 20 calls a week
  •         Over a third (37%) of those polled are at breaking point, stating that unsolicited calls leave them feeling ‘stressed’, ‘bullied’ or ‘vulnerable’
  •         The biggest nuisance call culprits are PPI calls; nearly three quarters (73%) of Birmingham residents received PPI calls in the last 12 months. This is closely followed by automated marketing calls (66%) and sales calls 62%
  •         A fifth of those polled (19%) stated that they have been a victim of attempted fraud or know friends and families that have been victims of attempted fraud
  •         16% have taken steps to protect themselves against telephone fraud

Hugo Sykes, creator of Community CallBLOCKER comments “Nuisance calls are clearly out of control in the UK and we know they are affecting many households’ everyday lives and causing a huge amount of distress to individuals and families. Our research shows that this is particularly acute in Birmingham where nearly three quarters of people are receiving up to 15 calls a week.

Sykes continues: “It isn’t just the intrusion but also the potential criminal activity that these calls are leading to. We know from our research that a fifth (19%) of people in Birmingham have either been a victim of telephone fraud, or know a friend or family member who has, and this doesn’t even account for those who may be too embarrassed to admit they’ve been defrauded.”

The nuisance calls situation is still at epidemic levels, despite the Government announcing in April its intent to crackdown on those companies making the calls and giving the ICO increased powers to fine repeat offenders up to £500,000. The population is still not doing enough, however. According to recent data from the Information Commissioner’s Office, only 61,500 official complaints about nuisance calls and texts have been received in 2014 - which equates to just 2% of people who are receiving unwanted calls are reporting them to the regulator.

Community CallBLOCKER’s new technology promotes ‘people power’ to solve this problem - allowing victims to take action with the option of recording and collecting evidence against offenders to bring them to justice.

Community CallBLOCKER was established by 23-year-old Oxford University engineering graduate and entrepreneur Hugo Sykes. He developed the service after his own grandparents were targeted by phone fraudsters. He created a solution to combat the problem which works by attaching a small device to a user’s telephone which not only filters nuisance calls but also actively detects and records possible fraudulent activities. Nuisance call numbers blocked by Community members are collected in a database and are then shared with all CallBLOCKER Community members. A unique feature of Community CallBLOCKER is that it can provide a recording of the nuisance call as evidence for people to prosecute the nuisance callers and intelligently detect a range of phone scams.