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Q: Why do I get so many robocalls?  What is the most effective way to handle them?

 – Paul D.
Shalimar, Florida

A:  So, your phone feels more like a personal vibrating massager in your pocket than a communication tool, eh?  Well, you aren’t alone. In fact, you’re part of a massive, unintentional club. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports that unwanted calls—especially illegal and spoofed robocalls—are the top consumer complaint they receive. But why is this happening now more than ever, and what can you actually do about it?  Well, asking your favorite technology columnist for advice is a great first step.  So, let’s dive in, my dear Geeks!

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: Why you? The short answer is that it isn’t personal—it’s just efficient. Modern scammers use computerized auto dialers to blast out millions of pre-recorded messages at virtually zero cost. If they get even one person out of ten thousand to bite, the campaign pays for itself.  There are a few key reasons why your specific number has likely become a frequent target.  Chief among these are data breaches and information brokers.  Your phone number has probably been leaked more than once in a data breach or sold by a data broker. Once your number is proven to be “live,” meaning it’s active with a real person on that end, it becomes a commodity, and is traded on the dark web.

Next is simple exposure, mostly on social media.  If you’ve ever listed your phone number on a public social media profile, scammers have likely scraped it and added it to their list.  Finally, arguably the most frustrating one, the “Active Number” Trap.  Have you ever gotten one of those calls in which you answer, and the party on the other end immediately hangs up without saying anything?  That’s likely this trap in action.  If you answer a robocall—even just to say “hello” or “stop calling me”—you confirm that your number is active and monitored by a human. As I said above.this makes your number much more valuable to scammers.  Once it makes its way onto the “Active Number” list, you will start to get calls even more frequently.

So, how do we take back our peace and quiet? While it’s nearly impossible to stop every single spam call, you can reduce the noise by using a combination of built-in tools and best practices

The single most effective way to handle a suspected robocall is to not answer it. If you don’t recognize the number, let it go to voicemail. If it’s actually important, like your doctor’s office or a legitimate business, they will leave a message, and you can call them back in only a few minutes. Some of the more modern smartphones even allow you to watch, and read a transcript as a voicemail message is decoded, allowing you to switch over and answer desirable calls.  A scammer, on the other hand, in almost every case will simply hang up when they hit an answering machine because their goal is a live interaction. 

Modern smartphones have excellent tools buried in their settings that can do the heavy lifting for you.  If you use an iPhone, go to Settings > Phone and turn on Silence Unknown Callers. This sends any number that’s not in your contacts or recent outgoing calls straight to voicemail.  On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots (More), and go to Settings > Spam and Call Screen. Enable “Filter spam calls” and suspected scam calls won’t even ring your phone.  On a Google Pixel, there is the “Call Screen” feature, where Google’s Assistant answers the call for you and asks why they are calling. You can watch a transcript of the interaction appear in real-time until the scammer realizes they’re talking to a robot, and hangs up.

Most major carriers now offer free (or low-cost) apps that provide “Scam Likely” labels or active blocking: AT&T has ActiveArmor, T-Mobile has Scam Shield, Verizon has Call Filter.  These are only a few examples.  Contact your carrier to learn more.  Beyond these, third-party apps like Nomorobo, RoboKiller, or Hiya use massive databases of known scam numbers to intercept calls. Some even use “answer bots” to waste the scammer’s time with pre-recorded nonsense.

Final word: Don’t be baited into playing the scammers’ games.  If you do accidentally pick up, do not press any buttons, even if a recording says “Press 1 to be removed from our list”. This is just another trick to confirm your number is active. Also, be wary of “Neighbor Spoofing,” where a call appears to come from a local area code to trick you into thinking it’s a neighbor or local business.  Finally, make sure you’re registered on the National Do Not Call Registry. While it won’t stop the offshore scammers who already ignore the law, it will drastically reduce the number of calls from legitimate companies.

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