Hiya: 45% of French consumers lost money to a phone scam this year

Hiya reports from its State of the Call 2026 survey, of more than 12,000 consumers and 3,600 business professionals in six countries, that 45% of French respondents lost money to a phone scam in the past year. The other five: Germany 12%, Canada 11%, the US 8%, Spain 7%, the UK 5%. 48% of French respondents say they received a deepfake call, which Hiya defines as an AI clone of the voice of someone the recipient recognizes, against 35% in Spain and 18% in the UK. 79% of French respondents ignore unidentified calls, and 28% say a displayed business name would get them to answer.

France’s opt-in rule for telemarketing took effect August 11, 2026, replacing the Bloctel opt-out register; a business now needs prior consent to make a marketing call. Hiya launched network-level branded calling in France in May, and the post closes on Hiya Branded Call.

The post gives no per-country sample, survey dates or panel provider, and the full report is behind a lead form. Hiya calls the French rate three times other countries’; the next highest, Germany, is 12%. The deepfake figure is self-reported: it counts calls respondents believe used a cloned voice.