Robocalls Are Worse Than Ever, Here's How to Stop Them
It's not just you, robocall volumes are higher than they've ever been.
National robocalling volumes set a record for a third straight month in May with more than 4 billion calls made to Americans, according to YouMail, which provides anti-robocall services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says complaints in May were also the highest for this fiscal year (which started October 2017). Try these tips to cut down on the annoying calls.
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1 Just Hang Up.
If you press any button—say, in response to an offer to be removed from the call list—it’s an indicator that your number works and the calling company will prioritize your number on the next round, says the FTC. Note the name and the number on your caller ID, file a report at donotcall.gov, and call your carrier to have the number blocked. This is your right. According to the FTC, robocalls that attempt to sell goods or services are illegal unless you’ve given the company permission to send you a robocall.
2 Contact Your Carrier.
If you’re getting a lot of robocalls you can contact your carrier (landline or cell phone) and see if they can offer you solutions to prevent calls from getting through, says the FTC. There may be a service charge involved. Before paying extra, just remember that telemarketers change caller ID information easily and often, so it may not be worth the fee.
3 Try Nomorobo.
It's a free service for those who have a VIOP landline that connects through the internet instead of a phone jack (Time Warner Cable and Verizon Fios, for example). Nomorobo analyzes your incoming calls and, if a particular number has received a high number of complaints, it blocks the call from getting through.