• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

Consumers are so worried about being scammed that many are avoiding phone calls and text messages in general, according to the 2026 Phone Fraud & AI Threat Survey from Truecaller.  

Of the individuals polled, 75% say they have been targeted by a scam call or text in the past 12 months. 

Moreover, 82% have ignored important calls or texts out of fear of fraud, up from 59% in 2024. This avoidance could lead to professional consequences for the 33% who say calls and texts are “very” or “critically” important to their work.

“People are no longer just screening spam — they’re screening out real life,” says Clayton LiaBraaten, senior executive advisor at Truecaller, in a statement. “When people miss calls from doctors, schools, clients and family members because they can’t tell what’s real, this stops being a nuisance. It becomes a trust crisis.”

The study concentrates on the phone, but this trend is also doubtless hurting email marketers. This reporter often ignores what seem to be blatant phishing attempts that could be legitimate in some cases. 

LiaBraaten concludes that this is “a full-blown communication paralysis crisis where millions of people are so afraid of being scammed that they’ve stopped answering their phones altogether,” said LiaBraaten. “As AI grows in sophistication and makes scams more convincing, default tools simply can’t keep up.”

Centiment surveyed 1,614 U.S. consumers from Feb. 20 to March 17.