Robocalls: How They Attack You & How To Stop Them

Robocalls: How They Attack You & How To Fight Them

by Elaine Thompson

You hear the ring in your pocket. You stop what you’re doing, grab your phone, and scan the number. You don’t recognize it, but it’s local, so it could be important. “We have a 0% interest credit card for you.” It’s yet another scam robocall — probably one of many you received today.

You’re not alone. According to YouMail’s Robocall Index, 5.1 billion calls went out to unsuspecting Americans in October of 2018 alone, almost double from just eight months ago. So how are phone spammers getting people to engage, and how can you avoid their scams? Keep reading to learn more.

3 Scams to Watch Out For

There are a few robocalls that are legal: political calls, school and flight cancellations, and solicitations from legitimate non-profits and debt collectors are among the select few. However, according to First Orion, which specializes in call blocking technology, half of mobile phone traffic in 2019 will be scams.

These are a few of the ways phone spammers might try to pull one over on you:

1. Neighbor Spoofing:

Using readily available voice over IP technology, robocallers can make literally hundreds of calls every day with ease—and they can make it look like those calls are coming from your neighbors on your caller ID. Scammers find every phone number in an area code, and start dialing, often cloning the area code and the three numbers that follow it to try and get you to pick up.

2. Debt Collection Scams:

Fake debt collection scams have been around for years, and they’re still going strong. This is a particularly tough scam to sniff out because, as noted above, real debt collectors sometimes use robocall programs to reach debtors. But if you’re certain you don’t have debts, you can and should ignore these calls.

3. Fake Prize Hoaxes:

Have you ever received a call indicating you’d won a gift card or a travel voucher? Those calls are typically from scammers looking to fish some personal information from you. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

So What You Can Do

There are steps you can take to reduce both the volume of calls you get and the risk that the callers will get personal information out of you.

Don’t answer (or block) unfamiliar numbers.

The first, most obvious thing to do is to avoid answering suspicious calls. If you do pick up, don’t try to talk to a person, don’t press “0” to talk to an operator, and do not text “STOP.” If you engage, scammers will realize your number is active and that you might be willing to participate in their ploys, potentially increasing the number of calls you’ll receive. It’s also a good idea to block the caller. This may seem pointless, as they can just change their number at will, but there are plenty of repeat offenders out there.

Get your carrier on your side.

Many mobile carriers offer services to help reduce phone spam. AT&T offers a service that blocks specific categories of calls and includes reverse phone-number lookup for $3.99/month. Verizon offers a $2.99/month Caller Name ID service that can detect and block spam numbers. It also gives contact details of the person calling, even if they aren’t in your contacts. Sprint has a $2.99/month Premium Caller ID that automatically rejects calls based on their fraud potential. And T-Mobile provides automatic scam ID and call blocking for free.

Some phone manufacturers, like Google, also have built-in call screening features on some models to cut down on the spam. Additionally, if you receive spam text messages with one of those carriers, you can forward the message to 7726 (aka SPAM). It alerts your phone service provider, helping them block the number from future attempts.

Make use of federal protections.

You can also add your number to the FTC’s No-Call List. It’s a constant arms race between the scammers and the regulators, so registering won’t stop calls altogether, but it can reduce the volume of calls. Take some time to fill out an FTC complaint as well, to help the commission identify the most frequent offenders.

Use tech to fight back.

Of course, there’s an app for that. Truecaller, one of the most popular apps, relies on millions of daily active users to create a database of nuisance numbers, and it automatically blocks known offenders. If you receive a call from an unknown number, you can paste the number into the app’s search bar to research who it is and get them added to the naughty list, if applicable. It’s free to download and use on both Android and iOS, with a $1.99/month premium version.

Like Truecaller, Hiya leverages a user-generated database. Hiya blocks calls and blacklists unwanted phone numbers and text messages that other users have reported as spam. The company also powers Samsung’s and T-Mobile’s caller ID services. It’s an incredibly lightweight app, available for both Android and iOS, and it’s completely free and devoid of ads.

RoboKiller won the FTC’s anti-robocall competition in 2015. Like the others, the app scans and blocks scam callers in real time. Where this app really differs is how it takes the fight to the callers themselves. The company gets revenge on spammers by using Answer Bots with pre-recorded messages that can keep the callers on the phone. The app is free on Android and iOS, but after a free seven-day trial, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription.

What Does the Future Hold?

The robocall problem isn’t going away, as evidenced by the rise of complaints the FTC receives on the daily. These robocalls cost consumers money, time, and most importantly, sanity. Luckily, lawmakers are finally beginning to act, and manufacturers and carriers are teaming up to fight these pests. In the meantime, using these tips can give you your phone back.