Americans receive over 50 billion robocalls annually. These are calls made by automated dialing technology to deliver pre-recorded messages.
There are several reasons you may be receiving more than your share of robocalls.
If you are a senior citizen you are specifically targeted by robocallers promoting Medicare advantage plans, funeral expense insurance, free back braces, medical alert systems, high risk investment schemes, and IRS tax scams to name a few.
Robocalls are Cost Effective
One of the main reasons is that scammers and telemarketers have found robocalls to be a cost-effective way to reach a large number of people quickly. With the rise of technology, it has become easier for scammers to spoof caller ID information and avoid detection by using automated dialing systems.
Data Brokers Provide Your Personal Information
Second, the prevalence of online data brokers and data breaches has made it easier for scammers to purchase personal information, such as age, economic status, and phone numbers in order to target individuals with robocalls. Once scammers have this information, they can use it to conduct phishing scams, steal personal information, or promote fraudulent products or services.
Laws Can’t Keep Up
Finally, the increase in robocalls makes it difficult for regulators and law enforcement to keep up with the rapidly evolving tactics used by robocallers. While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken steps to combat illegal robocalls by implementing regulations and penalties, scammers continue to find ways to bypass these measures.
How Can You Reduce or Eliminate Bothersome Robocalls?
A favorite way the federal government suggests is the add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. But, many robocalls are made from foreign countries which ignore United States laws.
Another option is to use a call blocker which allows you to press a button letting the call blocker remember the calling phone number so it prevents future calls from getting through. The difficulty with this is spoofing the caller ID and using different phone numbers each time they call. This prevents call blocking devices from effectively blocking robocalls.
Data Removal Service
A more effective way is to use a service to remove your emails, phone numbers, addresses, and other personal information from hundreds of data broker sites. This often costs $10 to $20 per month. This reduces robocalls as long as you keep paying for the service.
Many people choose to use a data removal service because it is effective for more than robocalls. Removing your personal information from online data broker sites reduces all the scams, junk mail, and text messages you are exposed to as well as reducing your chances of suffering from identity theft.
Robocall Killer Phone
A more permanent way to block robocalls is to use a phone that requires a human caller to enter a number code in order to complete the call and make the phone ring. This eliminates all the automated calls you receive with recorded messages.
This works by you recording a short welcome message telling the caller to enter a number from the keypad to complete the call. When a human calls your phone the welcome message plays and gives the caller time to enter the number. Only after they enter the correct number will the phone ring. If the caller does not enter the number after a short time, the phone automatically hags up, ending the call without ringing the phone.
If you are interested in using one of these inexpensive phones, please watch the short presentation HERE.