A new survey from Truecaller, the leading global platform for safe and trusted communication, has found that AI-powered scams are severely disrupting everyday communication for Americans. The 2026 Phone Fraud & AI Threat Survey, based on responses from 1,614 U.S. adults, reveals that 82% of respondents have ignored important calls or texts out of fear they were scams, a sharp increase from 59% in 2024. This avoidance behavior is having real professional consequences for the 33% of respondents 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,” said Clayton LiaBraaten, senior executive advisor at Truecaller. “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 survey found that 75% of respondents were targeted by a scam call or text in the past 12 months, and 84% are more concerned about the threat than a year ago. AI-powered scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with 30% of respondents reporting receiving a deepfake voice call impersonating a family member, celebrity, or political figure that felt more convincing than any previous scam.
The financial toll is significant. One in four respondents fell victim to a scam that cost them money in the past year, with 7% losing more than $250. Among those who lost money, 53% had received a deepfake voice call, compared to just 22% of those who were targeted but did not lose money. Identity theft has surpassed direct financial loss as the top concern for the coming year, yet half of respondents admit they would not know the exact steps to protect their identity or recover lost funds if targeted today.
Consumers feel exposed and unprotected. The survey found that 75% of respondents believe the U.S. government is not adequately protecting consumers from AI-driven scams, and 39% say recent regulatory changes, including shifts in funding and staffing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have undermined their confidence in scam-prevention efforts. Despite this, 63% of respondents do not use any third-party app or service beyond their carrier’s built-in tools to block scam calls or texts. When asked what matters most in a protection solution, respondents ranked automatic blocking of fraudulent calls first, followed by unknown caller identification — functions where default tools often fall short.
“What we’re witnessing 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. People deserve tools that evolve faster than the threats they face, and our mission is to build trust in communication and help people know who’s really on the other end to restore confidence in picking up the phone.” Truecaller, which has over 500 million users worldwide, recommends using a trusted caller ID application, never sharing sensitive information over the phone, avoiding unknown links in text messages, registering with the Do Not Call list, reporting fraudulent calls, and verifying caller identity before responding. More information is available at www.truecaller.com.
