The Truth About Scam Calls: What 770 Phonely Customers Told Us

If you’ve ever felt that little jolt of stress when the phone rings, you’re not the only one. Scam callers have made it hard for people to feel safe picking up the phone, especially older adults who rely on their landline to stay connected to family, friends and important services.

But there is some good news.
Customers who move to Phonely tell us their scam calls drop sharply, often within days.

We recently asked 770 Phonely customers to share what life was like before and after joining us. Their experiences confirmed what we hear every day on the phones: switching to Phonely makes a real difference.

Scam Calls Before vs After Phonely

Scam calls aren’t “just annoying.”
For many people, they’re intrusive, stressful, and can feel downright intimidating. We’ve spoken to customers who said they stopped answering their phone altogether because they were tired of the lies, the pressure, and the fear of being caught out. One person told us, “The majority of calls were scammers”… she fell for a spoofed number because it had her area code.

So we asked 770 Phonely customers to tell us the truth about the calls they used to get, and what life is like after switching to Phonely.

Before joining Phonely

The numbers paint a clear picture:

• The average person was getting 3.8 scam calls every week.
• Only 12% had a week with no scam calls.
• 44% were hit with four or more scam calls weekly.
• And 7% endured ten or more, week after week.

That’s not “a nuisance.” That’s harassment, and for older adults in particular, it chips away at confidence and peace of mind. Many told us they felt watched, targeted, or afraid to pick up the phone at all.

After switching to Phonely

This is where things change.

Our built-in call protection filters out scammers before the phone even rings, and customers feel the difference almost immediately:

• Scam calls dropped by 63%.
• 55% now say they get no scam calls at all.
• “Heavy-targeted” customers (those getting 4+ a week) fell from 44% to just 12%.
• Very high-volume scam calls (10+ a week) dropped to 1.5%.

Put simply:
4 in 10 people went from getting at least one scam call every week to getting none.

That’s not a small improvement, it’s a massive shift in peace of mind.
People tell us they finally feel safe picking up the phone again, and for many, that’s life-changing.

How Scam Calls Make People Feel

Scam calls do more than interrupt your day.
They change how you feel in your own home.

When we asked customers to describe the impact, their answers were honest, and often quite emotional:

• 53% said they feel angry
  Many told us they were furious at the audacity of these callers. One person said, “I’m just so angry at the cheek of it!”
• 43% feel intruded upon
  Scam calls make people feel watched or targeted, as if a stranger has pushed their way into a private space.
• 12% feel worried
  Especially those who’ve been pressured before. A customer shared, “He was quite aggressive…” and said the call left them shaken.
• 11% feel vulnerable
  And for older adults, that vulnerability can linger long after the phone stops ringing.

But the hardest stat to read?

Nearly 1 in 4 people (23%) told us scam calls have made them reluctant to answer their own phone.

That’s not how anyone should feel at home, anxious, on edge, or second-guessing every ring.

And this is exactly why Phonely exists:
to take that fear away, block the bad calls before they reach you, and give people back the confidence to pick up the phone again.

A Closer Look at Who Took the Survey

The people who answered our survey are the very people most affected by scam calls, and the ones who scammers tend to target first.

• 77% of respondents are aged 61+
• 92% are aged 51+
• 71% believe older adults are targeted more than younger people

And they’re right.

Scammers often prey on people who still rely on their landline, who may live alone, or who simply answer the phone out of habit. We’ve heard countless stories from families saying things like “She is finding it too complicated to make calls,” or “As a society we are leaving our elderly behind.”

This is even more important now, with the UK’s digital switchover in full swing.
Many older adults are anxious about the change and unsure what it means for them. Some have already been pushed onto digital services without clear explanations or proper support, leaving them confused, cut off, or feeling vulnerable.

That’s why protection matters.
It’s not just about blocking scam calls; it’s about making sure people feel safe, supported and confident using their phone, no matter their age.

And It’s Not Just Fewer Scam Calls…

Scam protection is a huge part of what we do, but it’s not the whole story.

When we looked deeper into the survey results, something stood out and made us genuinely proud:

87% of customers would recommend Phonely to a friend or family member.

For a growing service, that level of trust says everything. It matches what we hear day-to-day from customers who tell us how friendly, patient and helpful our team is. Many compare us to their old provider and say things like, “Customer service impeccable… I highly recommend Phonely,” or “Wish all customer service was like this.”

And it’s not just the service, it’s the setup too.

When we asked how easy it was to get started:

• 64% said setup was “very easy”
• 30% said it was “somewhat easy”

That means 94% of people, including many who openly say they’re “not good with technology”, got up and running without stress, confusion or complicated instructions. Customers often tell us they were surprised by how simple it was, or how a quick call to the team sorted everything out within minutes.

Phonely was built to make life easier. These numbers show we’re doing exactly that.

Why Scam Calls Drop So Much With Phonely

There’s a very simple reason scam calls fall so sharply when people switch to Phonely, our system blocks the bad calls before your phone even rings.

Every scam number reported on Who Called Me?, one of the UK’s busiest scam-reporting websites, is added straight into Phonely’s automatic protection. You don’t have to do a thing.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• Known scammers can’t get through
• Numbers linked to fraud are blocked instantly
• Your protection gets stronger every single day
• And scammers quickly realise Phonely customers aren’t worth their time

You don’t need to fiddle with settings, install apps, or keep an eye on anything.
It all happens in the background, quietly and reliably, exactly how protection should work.

A Safer Phone Experience for the People Who Need It Most

The digital switchover doesn’t need to feel confusing, stressful or risky.

When it’s done properly, it can actually make people safer than they ever were on old copper landlines, especially older or vulnerable people who are most often targeted by scammers.

And the data from our survey makes that clear:

• Fewer scam calls
• More confidence answering the phone
• A stronger feeling of safety at home
• Easy, stress-free setup
• Exceptionally high customer satisfaction

For a group who often feels left behind by modern tech, people who say things like, “She is finding it too complicated to make calls” or “Communication has become something they wish for rather than just have” – this matters more than ever.

It’s why so many customers tell us the same thing:

“Since joining Phonely, I finally feel in control of my phone again.”

And that’s exactly what we set out to do, make the phone feel safe, simple and reliable for the people who need it most.