Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times:

Though automated calls have long plagued consumers, the volume has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching an estimated 3.4 billion in April, according to YouMail, which collects and analyzes calls through its robocall blocking service. That’s an increase of almost 900 million a month compared with a year ago.

It’s not just your imagination. There is, indeed, a surge.

In one tactic, known as “neighborhood spoofing,” robocallers use local numbers in the hope that recipients will be more likely to pick up.

I’ve noticed this a lot. My general habit is to not pick up calls from numbers I don’t recognize. But what if the auto-shop calls to tell me my car is ready? Or any local business that doesn’t have a branded caller-id? This just plain sucks.

As Ben Bajarin noted on Twitter, “There is a special place in hell reserved for those who sell our cell phone numbers.”