Phone numbers reported as spam by the Australian community, aggregated across all states and territories.
Spam calls are unsolicited calls without confirmed fraudulent intent. This covers telemarketing, robocalls, and automated dialling that people report as unwanted. The Do Not Call Register offers some protection, but many spam operations fall outside its reach - especially calls from overseas or with spoofed numbers.
The key difference from scam calls is intent: spam is annoying, scam is deceptive. That said, persistent spam can be a precursor to scam campaigns. Numbers sometimes overlap with the suspicious category when the calling pattern looks like it could be testing numbers. Spam tends to concentrate on landline (02, 03) and 1300/1800 prefixes.
National Snapshot
Total Reports
122,718
Unique Numbers
80,321
Most Affected State
VIC
Top Prefix
48
Monthly Change
-18%
Spam reports represent 16% of all 768,057 community reports, making it the third-largest category in the dataset, followed by Scam and Uncertain.
Last updated:
Spam Reports by State
How spam reports are spread across Australian states. Counts are absolute - population size varies significantly between states.
Risk levels are calculated from how many reports a number has and what people classified it as.
Common Patterns in Spam Activity
Spam calls in Australia tend to be high-volume automated dialling during business hours, with the busiest days mid-week.
Energy switching - Campaigns promoting electricity and gas comparison services, often calling back repeatedly
Insurance quotes - Automated calls collecting health, car, or home insurance details for lead generation
Surveys & polling - Robocalls for political polls, customer surveys, or market research
Subscription renewals - Calls claiming a subscription is about to expire, even if you don't have one
Unlike scam numbers that burn through quickly, spam numbers tend to stay active for weeks or months. Many come from legitimate businesses that generate complaints because they call too often or at bad times. 1300 and 1800 prefixes are common.
What the Data Shows
122,718 community reports across 80,321 unique numbers form the basis of this dataset.
Victoria contributes the most reports (40% of total). Population differences affect absolute counts - see state breakdown for context.
The 04 prefix dominates among top-reported numbers, followed by 02 and 07.
Monthly volume has decreased by 18% compared to the prior month.
Spam accounts for 16% of all community reports, making it the third-largest category on the platform.
For official guidance, refer to Scamwatch (ACCC) and ACMA. Reporting on Reverseau helps surface patterns faster for other Australians.
Monthly Trends
Reports decreased by 18% in March 2026 compared to the month before. 1,417 unique numbers were reported.
Peak month: July 2025 (2,540 reports)
1.5k
May
2.1k
Jun
2.5k
Jul
2.0k
Aug
2.1k
Sep
2.1k
Oct
2.0k
Nov
1.1k
Dec
1.8k
Jan
2.0k
Feb
1.6k
Mar
677
Apr
* Current month is incomplete - reports still pending review may not yet be reflected.
Category Comparison
Scam Spam Suspicious
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Most Reported Spam Numbers
By prefix: 04 (9), 02 (6), 07 (3) among the most reported.
What is the difference between spam and scam calls?
Spam is unsolicited but not necessarily fraudulent - think telemarketing, robocalls, and surveys. Scam calls are deliberately deceptive, aimed at stealing money or information. That said, persistent spam can sometimes be a lead-up to scam campaigns.
How do I stop spam calls in Australia?
Register on the Do Not Call Register (donotcall.gov.au), turn on your carrier’s call-blocking features, and avoid answering unknown numbers. Don’t press buttons to "opt out" on automated calls - that just confirms your number is active.
Is the Do Not Call Register effective against all spam?
It covers Australian telemarketers, but can’t do much about calls from overseas, charities, political parties, or educational institutions. Spoofed VoIP calls also fall outside its reach.
Why do I keep getting spam calls from different numbers?
Spam operators rotate through number ranges using automated systems. Your number is probably on a marketing list, or was confirmed active through a previous call. Blocking individual numbers doesn’t help much when they keep switching.
Are spam calls using spoofed local numbers?
Yes. VoIP technology lets operators display Australian local numbers or 1300/1800 prefixes even when calling from overseas. This is called CLI spoofing, and it makes spam calls hard to distinguish from legitimate local calls. ACMA’s Combating Scam Calls code is working to address this.
All data on this page comes from community reports and reflects contributor experiences, not legal findings. Classifications follow Reverseau’s methodology, built on transparency and community consensus. For official advice, refer to the ACMA and Scamwatch (ACCC).
Data coverage: 2014-Present · Last reviewed: · Source: Community-submitted reports