The invention of caller ID and cell phones has forever changed society and the way that people interact with one another. Most of these changes have been for the better as cell phones have improved communications between people, provided mobile access to the internet, and can help to fight off boredom. However, there have been a few downsides to the increase of cell phones, and chief among them has been an explosion of robocalls.
A survey conducted in February of 2021 found that roughly 46 percent of Americans receive at least one robocall every day. Constantly dealing with these annoying interruptions can be highly frustrating, but there are a few different ways that you can block robocalls once and for all.
What Are Robocalls?
If you have ever answered your phone and heard an automated message instead of an actual person, you have experienced a robocall.
Most robocalls are programs created by spammers and cybercriminals who are attempting to scam you out of your money. The recorded message being spread through a robocall will usually require you to provide personal or financial information for some reason. In recent times, robocalls have started using the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential way to get this information.
Make no mistake about robocalls: they aren’t just annoying unwanted calls; they are highly dangerous. It’s estimated that Americans lost nearly $30 billion as a result of phone scams in the last year alone. Robocalls can potentially be life-changing and should be treated seriously.
What Is Being Done To Prevent Robocalls?
With so many people being hurt by these scams, you are probably wondering why there hasn’t been any action to stop them. There have actually been multiple different attempts to create legislation that could prevent robocalls. The problem has been that these attempts have largely been unsuccessful.
The most recent attempt came in late December of 2019 when then-President Trump signed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act into law. Although this law was specifically designed to reduce the number of robocalls, it doesn’t appear to be having any effect. In fact, current projections estimate that there will be over 71 billion spam calls being made to Americans in 2021.
Not only would this number set the record for most spam calls ever, but it would also represent a 30 percent increase since 2020 when the TRACED Act was placed into effect.
How To Block Robocalls
It’s pretty clear that despite their best efforts, the government doesn’t seem to be able to get robocalls under control. This reality means that it’s going to be up to you to defend yourself from them and protect your personal information. Luckily, there are quite a few options for blocking robocalls.
Download An App
With so many robocalls being made daily, it didn’t take long for there to become a high demand for spam blocking apps. While there are lots of available options out there, Burner stands out.
What makes Burner different is that it will allow you to create an additional phone number. This “fake” number will act as a barrier between your real number and robocalls. Whenever a number calls you, Burner will be there to intercept it. It will then run the number through a whitelist that you are able to update and manage.
If the number is on this whitelist, then the call will be routed to you. If the number is not on the list, your phone won’t receive the call and will go to your voicemail. You will then have the option for Burner to transcribe the message into a text so you can read it and see if the number is legitimate. If so, simply add it to your whitelist, and it will be sent through the next time it calls.
The whitelist approach is somewhat unique to spam blocking apps. Most of the other apps use a blacklist approach where they will block numbers suspected of being spam and let all other calls through. With this approach, all a scammer needs to do is to dial from a different number and try again. Eventually, the number will be one that doesn’t appear on the blacklist, and it will be sent through.
Since Burner uses a whitelist, it works the opposite way. Unless the number isn’t specifically on your whitelist, then it will not make it to your phone. This method is the only way to guarantee that 100% of robocalls get blocked.
Find this app in your app store.
Change Your Phone Settings
Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you should have a few options for dealing with robocalls. Although changing these settings might not be as effective as using a third-party app, as mentioned above, they can still reduce the frequency of robocalls. Typically, Verizon's Call Filter, T-Mobile's Scam Shield and AT&T Call Protect can be accessed to help.
Block Individual Numbers
If you are dealing with the same incoming call constantly calling attempting to spam call or send spam text messages to you, then you should simply block the number. It’s a fairly simple process for either phone that you may have to add this number to the blocked call list.
iPhone devices:
Open your Phone app and go to the Recent Calls list.
Select the Info icon located to the right of the number you want to block.
Tap the Block this Caller option that should be written in red.
Confirm this decision by selecting Block Contact.
Android phones and Google Pixels:
Open your Phone app and go to the Recent Calls section.
Select the number and press the Info icon on the bottom right.
Tap the Block option at the bottom right of your screen.
Confirm this decision by selecting Block.
Silence Unknown Callers
By selecting this option, smartphones will automatically send any unknown number directly to your voicemail. The call will show up in your recent log history, but your phone will not actually ring, and you won’t receive any notifications of a missed call.
iPhone (only available on iOS 13 or higher):
Go to your general settings.
Select Phone on the menu.
Toggle Silence Unknown Callers. It’s enabled when the button turns green.
Android:
Open the Phone app.
Tap the three vertical dots to open up Settings.
Selected Block Numbers option.
Toggle the Unknown switch. It’s enabled when the button turns green.
Register Your Number On The Do Not Call List
This option won’t really be effective in terms of blocking spam calls. However, it can stop telemarketers and legitimate businesses from calling you, so it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
The FCC and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created the National Do Not Call registry in order to help reduce the number of telemarketing calls being made. All you have to do to join the list is call the number at 888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register.
It’s free to join the registry and should only take a minute or two.
The Takeaway
Robocalls are an unfortunate part of daily life, and there just doesn’t seem to be any way to stop them. New legislation has been passed that was designed to stop them, but robocalls have only increased since then.
Registering your phone number on the Do Not Call list and changing your phone settings are a few ways that you might be able to reduce the overall number of spam calls. However, neither of them will be as effective as using a third-party app like Burner. It’s the most effective app available for not only blocking robocalls but keeping your information safe and protected.
SOURCES:
Why Spam Robocalls Are on the Rise and How to Stop Them.