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Summary of article:
Due to frequent sales calls and scams in China, the public has become wary of unknown calls. Call volume and response rates have declined significantly, and authorities have continued to strengthen interception and crackdown.
More and more people in China are choosing to reject calls from strangers or even directly mute their phones. Data show that from 2021 to 2025, China Mobile’s total call business declined by more than 30%, the average daily call duration decreased from 12.6 minutes to 8.7 minutes, and the rate of answering unknown calls dropped from 6.3 out of 10 people to only 2.8. Some people call this phenomenon “telephone phobia”, which is related to frequent sales calls and telecommunication scams.
Observer.com reported that data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that in 2025, the information and communications industry intercepted a total of 6.48 billion fraudulent calls and text messages, verified and disposed of nearly 200 million high-risk phone cards and more than 400 million Internet accounts, and seized 210,000 “cat pool” devices and cracked down on 117,000 criminal bases. Assisted public security organs in tightening.
In addition, in the second quarter of 2026, among the complaints from unsolicited commercial electronic information users in China, financial complaints involving debt collection, loan financing and insurance promotions accounted for 76.5%. During the same period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ordered the reform, supervision and punishment of 315 illegal enterprises, and closed 1,034 illegal voice lines and 762 SMS ports.
The experience of Mr. Hu, a citizen of Shanghai, reflects the troubles in life caused by sales calls. From February to March 2025, he received an average of two to three sales calls every day from the bank’s personal mobile phone and official customer service number, covering loans, installments, cash withdrawals and other business. After several unsuccessful complaints, he sued the bank in the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court. After nearly three months of filing, reviewing and mediating the case, Mr. Hu finally received an apology from the bank agent in court and was compensated 5,000 yuan (about US$748). He hoped that increasing the cost of making illegal sales calls would prompt agencies concerned to reconsider whether this type of marketing is worthwhile.
A 2024 survey by the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center involving 1,335 respondents showed that 56.6% of respondents felt fear or hesitation about incoming calls, with the highest rate in the “post-00s” being 61.6%, and 58.5% in the “post-90s”.
Many netizens shared ways to deal with this, including only answering whitelisted numbers like takeout and express delivery, and blocking all other unknown calls. Some people also believe that people who are truly in an emergency can still be contacted via text message or instant messaging software. However, some netizens reminded that family elders should not reject all unknown calls to avoid important information.
Cao Dagang, a psychiatrist certified by China’s National Health Commission, pointed out that the phone is a real-time synchronous communication method that can easily make people feel stressed and oppressed; Instant messaging software allows users to choose their own response time. When repeatedly exposed to sales and scam calls, people form a conditioned response and consider the risk first when seeing an unfamiliar number. Xu Guangxing, a professor at the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at East China Normal University, also said that fear of advertising and telecom fraud is one reason people are hesitant to make calls from strangers.
Summary FAQ
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The main reason is that sales calls and telecommunication fraud are very high, which makes people wary and addicted to unfamiliar numbers. They worry that they will be harassed, promoted, or cheated once they answer the call, so they will refuse to answer the call at first.
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The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology continues to help prevent fraudulent calls and text messages, verify high-risk phone cards and account numbers, and crack down on crime dens; It also orders reforms and fines illegal companies, and shuts down illegal voice lines and SMS ports.
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Many people only answer whitelist numbers such as takeout and express delivery, and directly block other unknown calls; Others use text messages or instant messaging instead. However, experts remind that the elderly should still retain the necessary ability to receive incoming calls.
