Email spam hits new high, increasing nuisance communication by 31%

The struggle with spam and nuisance communications isn't a new phenomenon. However, recent Freedom of Information (FOI) data from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) indicates that the problem is larger than previously estimated. According to the FOI request made by Quadient, despite a year-on-year fall of 10% in nuisance calls and texts, digital channels are becoming a preferred route for scammers.

For the first time, email complaints have been included in the ICO's data set. Their inclusion reveals email spam accounted for 37% of all complaints, pushing up the total number of complaints about nuisance communications by 31% in 2023. Text complaints experienced a significant fall of 27% year-on-year, while live calls remained the biggest nuisance, constituting 38% of all complaints.

Andrew Stevens, Principal at Quadient, welcomes the inclusion of email spam in the data set, saying, "Spam email has been an issue since 1978, so understanding how digital channels are used and abused is critical. If we cannot understand these digital channels, they will become a wild west, with scammers constantly evolving their tactics... If we are to really understand the scale of the problem, and start addressing it, we need this level of understanding across all digital channels such as social media."

Adding to the complexity of nuisance communications, there were new categories of complaints recorded by the ICO for the first time in 2023. A total of 2,196 complaints were lodged against cryptocurrency, online trading, and investment scams. Despite a 2% decline in complaints about banking calls and texts, the rise of cryptocurrency scams has the potential to erode consumer trust in legitimate communications from banks regarding trading or investments.

Stevens further comments on the rise of cryptocurrency scams, "The rise of cryptocurrency, trading, and investment complaints should be a warning to financial institutions to be more thoughtful in how they communicate with customers about these areas... Financial organisations shouldn't fall back on just putting out bland messaging to prevent being blocked but need to think seriously about what channel and message they use."

While most industries experienced a decrease in nuisance communication complaints in 2023, the energy industry recorded a significant increase. Complaints regarding energy savings and home improvements, and energy supply rose by 69% and 29% respectively.

Stevens concludes, "With the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and a continual increase in energy bills, it's not surprising that consumers feel the most disillusioned by the energy industry. The fact that live calls were the most complained about shows companies are clearly not communicating in the right manner...Organisations need to ensure they are not only being thoughtful in how and where they're communicating with customers, but also provide proactive advice and support rather than just selling products."