A robocall is a robotic phone call that is based on a dialer that automatically dials telephone numbers. It connects the call to a live person or delivers a pre-recorded message once the call has been answered. If this is the case the person who answers is appealed for pressing a sequence of buttons for some voice messages.
Robocalls may come from political or public-service with the aim of telemarketing campaigns or even from pharmacies, libraries, schools….
The U.S. has received roughly 39 billion robocalls over the last few months, this number shows that robocalls continue to be a hassle for everyone.
The congress has lately approved the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, which implements a forfeiture penalty for violations of the prohibition on certain robocalls, and this will consequently give the government the full authority to prosecute robocallers.
president Trump will sign the legislative proposal and then will take months to implement the changes.
Are robocalls legal?
If you are registered to the “NO CALL LIST” then it is illegal.
Why do we get too many robocalls while some don’t?
Your phone number must be treated like a private data almost same as your credit card number. The real ways robocallers acquire your number and personal information are more malicious. Here’s a list of ways telemarketers and robocallers may have acquired your phone number:
- Your location data (at restaurants or somewhere else) may have been sold to third-party data aggregators by some mobile brands.
- Some charities sell and share donor information to other charities or telemarketing companies to supplement their revenue.
- Data Aggregation Platforms and websites (form of pop-ups).
- Credit Companies which make a majority of their revenue from selling data they acquire about consumer’s spending, debt, and other financials. This data is sold to credit card companies, banks, etc.
So make sure to read every platform’s privacy policy first.
What is the best way to stop robocalls without changing your phone number?
If you get a robocall you can block the number manually or add your number to “NO CALL LIST”. But this usually futile because scammers and spammers are constantly changing their numbers. So, you can use an app to block the numbers automatically. And there are a couple of apps that offers that service, the most known is called “Whoscall” which has an online database that are updated on a daily basis by providing phone number of a scam or an unpleasant telemarketer which is recognized automatically as unwanted.
If you’re not comfortable with using this app you can simply put IC SIT tone on your answering machine, This is probably the most effective way to make the calls stop. This signal would let the machine on the other side think that the line is disconnected. This needs to be done with a call blocker that recognises the number and send it directly to your answering machine. Playing it 3 times should be enough.
