How to avoid 2.4 billion robocalls made every month
Several days ago, a reader asked about a website I suggested to help eliminate robocalls to cellphones. A USA Today article gave do-it-yourself methods to rid ourselves of these nuisances (which usually include scammers seeking our personal information).
I advise placing your phone numbers on nomorobo.com and nomorobo.com to protect yourself. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports nearly 2.4 billion robocalls are made every month.
TO GET UNHOOKED
1 Use Google for more than basic research. How do robocallers obtain our numbers? Place the blame on Google. People search companies, such as Nuwber, that aggregate data from “white page listings, public records and social network information.” Cyber scammers can easily access these sites. Google your own number. Perhaps it isn’t right next to your name, but chances are the number is definitely available to the viewer.
2 Don’t give up on the Do-Not-Call List. Many of us who’ve heard of and entered our cell number (as well as home phone) to do-not-call lists over the years feel it was a useless gesture. Frankly, in many instances, the assumption is correct. While enrollment does help prevent legitimate companies from cold-calling, the real creeps often have ways to work around preventive measures. If you’ve told the (so-called) company representative to take you off their list and they still call, report the calls to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC. gov); it compiles information and hands out stiff fines. Unfortunately, harassing calls are becoming more and more non-human so we can’t demand they cease and desist. The solution is to actually block them right from your cellphone (if the latter is a smartphone).
3 Block calls and texts. Whether readers own an iPhone or an Android, each has the capability to keep us safer. Take iPhones. Tap the green phone icon on the screen and select the “Recents” tab on the screen bottom. Next, tap the blue “i” information icon next to the phone number you wish to block. A screen with several options will pop up; at the very bottom, find the one that says “Block this Caller” and tap it. Confirm when the verification screen appears. So far as Androids are concerned, block with two easy steps. If using Android 6.0, go into your call log and long-press the number you wish to block. Then, select “Block number” from the menu that appears. If using any type of Android other than a stock version, select “Setting,” “Call blocking,” and then tap “add number;” at this point, type in the number you hope never to hear from again.
4 Truecaller is a paid app that works. For iPhones, Androids, and Windows Phones, Truecaller states it as collected more than 3 billion phone numbers. When the app identifies a specific phone number as a robocall or a scam, an alert pops up on the phone’s screen. The website says it relies on information from a central database that’s updated with new numbers on a constant basis.
5 And don’t forget Nomorobo, the FTC award-winner. Once you’ve downloaded the app, either sign up for a 30-day free trial or $1.99 monthly/$19.99 yearly fee. After installation, the app prompts you to go into your settings, select “Phone,” then tap “Call Blocking & Identification;” tap Nomorobo to enable the app. (To ensure you aren’t a scammer-robocaller-creep, you’ll be asked to enter your phone number for verification.) Now you’re set: when a robocaller hits your phone number, your call screen shows a big, old, red dot accompanied by a note that announces ROBOCALLER. Even better, the app offers an option to automatically and permanently block these suspicious callers before they even show up on your screen. Nomorobo promises not to block legitimate calls, though it won’t release its secret to determine which is which. But hey, it works well, so I could care less about the mystery that makes it so valuable.
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com.