Robocalls A Major Nuisance
We all get them, probably more than we like.
Robocallers asking for personal information or calling about insurance.
Experts say the number of Robocalls coming into your phone is a growing problem, but there are ways you can help decrease the amount of calls you get in a day.
“Every year we get more and more robocalls,” says Oana Schneider, BBB Social Media Services Director.
Those annoying phone calls from your landline to your cell phone.
“I get them all the time wanting to know about warranties on my car or home warranties,” says Nikki Moore, Evansville.
Robocalls are becoming more common calling multiple times a day.
“Anytime I’ve ever answered them thinking it was somebody I needed to talk to, it was about my cars extended warranty and I don’t have an extended warranty so I just hang up and usually I block that number,” says Amanda Wildt.
Last year the Attorney Generals Office said they received 3500 complaints about robocalls.
“It’s just a recording that tells you to follow some instructions in order to do something,” says Schneider.
From IRS calls to selling vacation packages, experts say scammers can be located anywhere and are finding ways to reach you.
“And the way to know if a robocall is illegal is if you pick up the phone and you don’t know who they are, you don’t know what company they’re representing, and this does not ring a bell to you but they’re trying to sell you something,” says Schneider.
When it comes to determining a spam call there are some red flags.
“If they are misspelling, they don’t know what your name should sound like, they don’t know your first name, they only know your last name, or they don’t even have your name at all,” says Schneider.
And when you see a local area code on your phone, that doesn’t mean it’s a local caller. The best thing you can do is to not answer your phone at all.
“If you don’t recognize the phone number do not pick up the phone. Do not answer it. If it’s something important they will leave a message and you will figure out what to do next,” says Schneider.
As for stopping those pesky calls, there are a few steps you can take.
“You can register your phone number with the “Do Not Call” registry. That means that real honest telemarketers will not call you.”
Experts say there are apps you can download on your phone to block unknown numbers. Robocalls can also be reported to the FTC.
