Best tips for blocking robocalls when they ramp back up
If you’re spending more time at home, you may be more aware of robocalls. These are the calls you missed when you were going to work every day. Aaron Foss, founder of Nomorobo, a leading robocall blocking service, estimates Americans receive 1.3 robocalls per day. “Initially, phone carriers were resistant to blocking calls, because, by law, they are supposed to carry all calls, or they worried about being held liable if they blocked a legitimate call,” he says. “But the rules are changing, and carriers are much more willing to help protect customers.”
On March 31, the Federal Communications Commission passed a new set of rules for wireless carriers to reduce robocalls using caller ID authentication. The rules require phone companies to verify that the caller ID transmitted with a call matches the caller’s phone number and to block calls with malicious “spoofed” caller identification, which is often used to trick consumers into answering their phones. Carriers have until summer 2021 to comply.
Although the number of robocalls may have dropped amid the coronavirus pandemic, once call centers are allowed to reopen (and campaigning for the 2020 election resumes), you can expect robocalls to start making your phone ring incessantly. That’s why now may be the best time to look into ways to block them. Here are tips on the best strategies for different situations:
Cellphone mitigation
Before you spend a dime on anything extra, check with your carrier to see what robocall mitigation it offers as part of your package, suggests Lance Ulanoff, editor in chief of the technology website lifewire.com. For instance, TMobile and Verizon mark calls they think are probably spam (you may see a spam label appear on your screen), so you can ignore the call or send it to voicemail. Similarly, AT&T offers AT&T Mobile Security and AT&T Call Protect to automatically block fraudulent calls and provide screen alerts for suspected spam calls.
Smartphone protection
Consider a call blocker app such as RoboKiller, Hiya, YouMail, Truecaller or Nomorobo. They use various methods to try to block identifiable spammers, while letting legitimate calls get through. RoboKiller asserts that when it blocks a spam call, the app answers the call for you with Answer Bots designed to waste the spammer’s time. YouMail greets robocalls with a “number out of service” message. Many call-blocking apps are free; others charge $2 to $14 per month. Be sure to confirm that the app you want is compatible with your phone. Some are designed only for iOS or Android operating systems.
VoIP carriers
Voice over Internet Protocol means telephone calls are transmitted over the internet instead of traditional telephone circuits. Even though you still have a phone plugged into a wall outlet, your provider may have switched to VoIP. Almost all major VoIP carriers now use Nomorobo, which blocks impostors, political calls, debt collectors, scams or shady charities and the like, while allowing for emergency services, weather alerts and other legitimate calls. The beauty of Nomorobo’s real-time protection is that an incoming call simultaneously goes to your phone and Nomorobo (what’s called simultaneous ringing), where it is instantly analyzed based on a database of more than 2 million blacklisted phone numbers. (There are approximately 1,500 new bad numbers detected every day.) If it recognizes a bad number, it disconnects the call, and you’ll hear a single ring. If your phone rings twice, odds are that it’s legitimate. Should a scammer slip through, you hang up and report it to Nomorobo, which adds it to its list. Some carriers, such as Spectrum and Cox, offer one-click setup, while others offer step-by-step instructions where you use your online account to turn the service on.
Outwit, outsmart
Even with the best of protections in place, a few robocalls will continue to slip through. Sure, you can add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov), and doing so won’t hurt, but let’s get real: The list was set up for legitimate telemarketers to know who doesn’t want these calls. Robocallers blasting out millions of calls a day don’t care.