What Are Robocalls And How To Stop Them – There's An App For That
Everyone appreciates the irritation of telemarketing calls. Seems like eons since the days you actually hear the voice of a real human, speaking nonstop, hoping you'll listen to their entire sales pitch.
In today's computerized world, live telemarketers – annoying as they were – have given way to robotic systems that resemble Cyberdyne System T-800 Model 101. You just can't kill them no matter how hard you try. Here is a little history behind the notorious robocall and new technology that might put an end to the annoying irritation.
- The Evolution of the Robocall
Telemarketing has evolved from the days of live operators making seemingly random calls from a list of phone numbers. Today, everything from a political spiel to sales campaigns use the robot concept. They are a computerized autodialer, which randomly selects phone numbers to call.
They have incorporated an ingenious idea to fake caller-id information to confuse the party they are dialing. Some of the sneakiest systems actually pre-program phone numbers using the same area code you have. Using a series of dead, non-existent phone numbers that aren't attached to any real person, they make you think you're getting a telephone call from someone in your area.
The calls could actually be coming from thousands of miles away, generating a connection with you through a computer system. Their single objective is to persuade you into hearing their entire speech. Hackers and scammers, dishonest types who try to get you to divulge personal information, are behind many of these robotic calls.
People have reported things such as, your electric bill is past due and scheduled for a disconnection of service, to preprogrammed voices beaming with elation about that special cruise you've won. These calls cost billions of dollars with 1 out of 10 people saying they've lost money to a robocall generated telephone scam.
The problem has gotten so bad that the FCC has expanded the ability of telephone service providers to punish robocalls. This new mechanism may help the situation, at least temporarily, but just as the robocall systems skirted the Do Not Call Registry, there's a reasonable chance they'll come up with a way around this too.
So, you've reported dozens of numbers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, blocked repeated offenders, but you still get calls. If you're like many of the billions of people who still receive calls from computer-generated robots, you've thrown your hands up in the air in frustration. You've followed every suggestion to the letter, but like the Terminator, they just keep coming.
- Blocking Robocalls
Thankfully, there may be a breath of fresh air in the air to suck the life out of robocalls. Software developers have designed apps that will block all robocalls. Robocalls do not care if they are calling your cellphone, or a landline.
All they want is an open door to pitch their spiel, or in many cases, rip you off. Without some way to block their achieved objective, get you to answer, they will continue to skirt the outside mechanisms designed to stop them.
Call blocking apps are proving a worthy opposition, able to block them before they even get a dial tone to call you. There are dozens of new apps available for both android devices and iPhones.
Until the agencies entrusted with stopping these types of unwanted solicitations, if they ever can completely, installing a robocall blocking app is the solution. If you've reported unwanted callers until you're blue in the face, put your number on do not call lists, but still, are attacked by robocalls, there's an app for that. To learn more, investigate an app like Stealth Mode App
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