Hiya Survey Finds Widespread Deepfake Calls and Losses to Phone Scams
Summary
Hiya’s 2026 survey of more than 12,000 consumers in six countries found that 31% reported receiving a deepfake voice call and 15% lost money to a phone scam in the past year; 86% said they don’t answer unknown calls.
Key points
- Censuswide conducted the survey for Hiya from December 17, 2025, to January 2, 2026, with more than 12,000 consumers across the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and Spain.
- Respondents reported receiving an average of seven unwanted calls per week; 39% said phone spam had increased over the prior year.
- Fifteen percent said they lost money to a phone scam in the past year, a rate the report says has remained unchanged for three years.
- Thirty-one percent said they had received a deepfake voice call in the past year; another 15% were unsure whether they had.
- Eighty-six percent said they do not immediately answer calls from unknown numbers; 73% supported businesses identifying themselves on caller ID.
- Thirty-one percent said mobile network operators should lead efforts to stop phone scams, and 65% supported stronger regulation of operators.
- Hiya recommends network-level spam and fraud protection, AI-based detection, and caller identification; these recommendations accompany the survey findings.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Hiya
- Report Period
- Survey conducted 2025-12-17 to 2026-01-02; version 1.2 updated June 2026
- Scope
- Consumer sentiment, exposure to unwanted calls, and trust in voice calls across six countries.
- Sample Size
- More than 12,000 consumers; approximately 2,000 respondents per country.
- Key Statistics
- Respondents reported receiving an average of 7 unwanted calls per week.
- 15% said they lost money to a phone scam in the past year; the report says this share was unchanged for three years.
- 31% said they had received a deepfake voice call in the past 12 months.
- 86% said they do not answer calls from numbers they do not recognize.
- 38% said they would be likely or extremely likely to switch mobile network operators if they felt their provider was not doing enough to protect them.
- Recommendations
- Mobile network operators should provide network-level spam and fraud protection, including blocking fraud calls and labeling spam calls.
- Mobile network operators should use AI-powered spam protection and AI voice detection to address evolving fraud and deepfake calls.
- Mobile network operators should promote their spam-protection services to subscribers.
- Businesses should use branded caller ID and register their phone numbers as legitimate business numbers.
- Businesses should deploy inbound call protections that detect suspected deepfake calls and warn employees in real time.
Vendors
Products
Countries
Canada**Based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany**France**Based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany**Germany**Based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany**Spain**Based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany**United Kingdom**Based on a survey of more than 12,000 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Germany**United StatesCall report, which is based on survey data from more than 12,000 consumers in six key countries: the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and Spain.