You’re hard at work, head down, fully engaged in what you’re doing when the phone rings. You don’t recognize the number, but you answer anyway — only to be greeted by the dulcet tones of a recorded message on the other end. Some robocalls are okay — the ones you receive from your doctor’s office reminding you of an upcoming appointment, for example — but others are seriously annoying. If you’re wondering how to stop robocalls from coming through for good, here are a few suggestions.
Hang up Immediately
Never engage with the call in any fashion. While you never want a person on the other end to know that you’re there — they’ll simply call back — even robocallers are equipped with technology that tips them off when someone responds to a recording and can cause an increase in calls. As soon as you hear a recorded message, hang up right away. If the recording claims to be from a company that you know, hang up and call the company directly using a phone number from their website.
Try Your Carrier
Phone carriers have joined the anti-robocall revolution. No longer do you have to wonder if it’s safe to answer that unfamiliar number. You can simply trust these applications to handle the dirty work for you. If you’re an AT&T customer, for example, you can download the Call Protect app; it features built-in security to prevent those spam callers from reaching you. Verizon customers can use Call Filter to block unwanted contacts. T-Mobile’s scam protection service identifies potential robocallers and can block or send them straight to voicemail. Meanwhile, Sprint’s Premium Caller ID service protects you from dealing with those spoof callers.
Use Some Applications
Third-party call blocking applications are now more popular than ever before, thanks to the increase in robocalls. There are many popular options, including Nomorobo, YouMail, RoboKiller, Hiya, and Truecaller. An alternative is to simply sign up for a Google Voice phone number. That way you can simply use that number instead of your usual one when you sign up for a service and don’t want to be bothered by potential calls.
Block the Numbers
If you receive countless robocalls, it’s worth signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry as soon as possible. But in the meantime, make sure that you block each number as it comes in. Don’t delay — as soon as you hang up, block the number to prevent the same one from recurring. While it won’t put a complete stop to this activity, it may help minimize the number of unwanted calls that you receive.
Report Suspicious Calls
Did you know that you can report those annoying calls that you receive? Once you join the National Do Not Call Registry and you’ve been on the list for at least 31 days, you can start reporting those unwanted robocalls and sales calls. Bear in mind that you may still receive some phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize even after you join the registry. This includes political organizations, charities, and surveying companies. And if you receive a robocall after the 31-day period, then you can report it directly to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
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I’ll tell you a little secret about signing up with the National Do Not Call list—the telemarketers are supposed to view this list and respect you and not call further. Perhaps some do play by the rules. But I put my number on the National Do Not Call List and suddenly I was getting MORE and MORE telemarketer calls then ever before because were using that very list to obtain more numbers to call!
I had to change my cell phone number because of it. So, be warned.
The best thing to do is use your block on your smart phone. Also don’t answer, if possible, because it signals someone is at that number and they’ll call again.
It is important to note that most SPAM callers use number spoofing – that is, the number you see on the caller ID is not actually the number they are calling from. Many choose to spoof numbers very close to yours, or at least in your area code, to increase the chances of you picking up the phone. Blocking every SPAM caller you get actually does not help, because they can always change the number and try again. And sometimes, the numbers they use are legitimate numbers, then you end up blocking real people. As mentioned above, using the DO NOT CALL registry actually does nothing, too. I have noticed this as well. It is better to have a number that is unlisted. Don’t give out your number to random people or use it online. Don’t answer the phone unless you are expecting a call or from a number you recognize. If you answer, then they know they have a live number, and will keep calling. Many cell phones now will flag a potential SPAM caller.
Unfortunately, until the phone companies and the FCC are on board with stopping this, there is not much you can do.