Receiving frequent pre-recorded calls from different phone numbers can be annoying. Since many of them are scams, finding a way to block these unauthentic robocalls is important.
In this guide, we’ll look at what exactly robocalls are and how they work. We’ll also explore the purposes of genuine robocalls and types of robocall scams, followed by effective ways to stop them.
The best way to stop robocalls on your phone is to switch to Community Phone’s landline or cell phone service.
Community Phone's mission is to keep people connected and ensure that when the phone rings, it's their family, friends, or doctor on the line. The best part? All landline and cell phone plans include FREE spam call blocking.
It enables you to flag any spam, unwanted, or robocalls and blocks them before your phone even rings.
Definition: What is a ‘Robocall’?
A robocall is a recorded message in the form of a telephone call, instead of a live person. Some robocalls have a robotic voice whereas others contain a recorded human voice. Any pre-recorded call is termed a robocall, whether it has been recorded by a human being or a robot. That being said, most robocalls have political or marketing purposes. They try desperately to sell you something.
Robocalls are illegal unless the caller has your written permission. However, the Federal Trade Commission or FTC rules allow a few types of robocalls without your permission, like political and charity calls. It’s recommended that you don’t answer robocalls or the telecommunication network will know your number is active. This way, it’s likely they’ll share your contact with other telecommunication teams too, leading to more unwanted robocalls on your number.
How Do Robocalls Work?
The caller enables automatic dialing on a computer and provides the computer with a range of cell phone numbers. The computer automatically calls each of those numbers simultaneously or one by one and plays the recorded voice message. If the user takes an action based on the call (like purchasing something), the caller will benefit from that.
Furthermore, robocalling agencies mostly use pre-recorded human voices for robocalling to yield maximum benefits. As you might have expected, a human-recorded voice is likely to get more attention than a robotic voice during a phone call. Moreover, data reveals that 80% of robocalls come from fake numbers.
The Purpose of Robocalls
Robocalls can have varying purposes, such as:
1. Financial Scams
A lot of robocalls are focused on monetarily scamming you. For instance, you may encounter fraudulent charities asking for donations and fake travel agents offering discounted travel packages. Another common scam held by robocalls is asking you to pay your taxes as bogus IRS employees. Scammers are now experimenting with Free Trial frauds, which aren't as old as fake customer service scams.
2. Check Validity of Your Number
Signing up for certain accounts online requires entering an operational phone number. It ensures the platform can reach you if needed. To prevent users from entering someone else’s phone number, these platforms place robocalls on their contact. If the robocall validates the given number, the user’s account is created.
3. Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
SCA stands for Strong Customer Authentication. It’s a technique used to ensure it’s you logging into or making a change to your banking account. Financial SCA works by placing a robocall on your contact number that (sometimes) requires you to answer certain questions that only you would have the answers to. These answers can be used to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Types of Robocalls or Scam Calls
Robocalls can be categorized into different types based on their nature, such as:
1. Spoofing
Spoof calls hack your telephone network to show them as legitimate or local phone calls. It gives them the authority to ask you for your personal information which can be used against you. An example of spoofing is a caller making you believe they’re from your bank and ask your credit card details.
2. IRS Scam
An IRS scam refers to a robocall that pretends to be an employee from your IRS. The caller then asks you to submit your tax at an anonymous account number that belongs to them.
3. Charity
A lot of charity and non-profit organizations these days use robocalls to attract donors. However, not all charity robocalls are genuine; some of them are directed by scammers.
4. Travel Scams
Travel scam calls mostly require you to submit a certain amount at a given account, claiming that you’ll get a travel package in return. The callers of these scams pretend to be legit travel agents.
5. Customer Care
Many scammers on the internet present their anonymous phone numbers as original customer care contacts of large companies. When users contact customer support using those contacts, the scammers pretend to be genuine customer care and steal their information.
6. Free Trial
Free trial robocall scams are also popular nowadays. They work by advertising free trials of a product while requiring you to pay a small shipping or handling fee. But you never actually receive the product you ordered.
What Happens If You Answer Robocalls?
Answering robocalls is not a good practice as it signals scammers that you make up a good victim for robocall scams. Once scammers presume this, they’re likely to try their best to scam you. In some cases, they might even share your contact with relevant scamming teams for money. This way, you’ll keep getting more and more robocalls from different scammers.
While most users believe avoiding robocalls makes them stop, a study by The Conversation has proven otherwise. According to the study, answering robocalls doesn’t make any difference in how many robocalls you’ll receive on your phone number.
They performed the study by tracking the weekly volumes of robocalls received on phone numbers. Some of these phones answered the robocalls while others didn’t. In the end, the weekly volumes of robocalls on all these numbers remained consistent.
How to Stop Robocalls
Below are the most effective ways to stop robocalls:
1. National Do Not Call Registry
By signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry, you can choose whether to receive telemarketing calls. This will block any telemarketing calls from registered brands. However, you’ll still get calls from other types of organizations like charities, political groups, etc.
2. Download Robocall Blocking Apps and Softwares
You’ll find various phone apps on the internet designed to detect and block robocalls. These apps usually have large databases of contacts which allows them to verify phone numbers and separate genuine callers from scammers.
Here are some popular robocall blocking apps and software:
3. Report Robocalls
If you frequently receive robocalls from certain numbers, reporting those contacts may be a good solution. The process involves reporting the robocalling number to the Federal Trade Commission of your country/region by calling their given number.
4. Use the *60 Star Code
The *60 Star Code is also a great way to block certain phone numbers that frequently annoy you. Simply dial *60 on your phone followed by a hash (#) and the phone number you want to block, and another hash (#) at the end. Then, press call to block that number.
Get Rid of RoboCalls With Community Phone
Another great way to prevent robocalls is to switch over to a secure and protected house phone service, like Community Phone. Community Phone offers landline and cell phone service that, unlike traditional services, runs off local cellular networks. This way, Community Phone offers standout benefits like no need for internet or extensive copper wire connection.
How It Helps Against Robocalls
Community Phone has a robocall blocking feature that stops unwanted calls from reaching your phone. It can automatically flag any spam, fraud, or robocalls and blocks them before your phone even rings. By using this feature, you can block all malicious phone calls that you may receive daily.
How Does It Work?
- When you receive a call to your Community Phone number, your phone won’t ring right away. The caller hears a recording that asks them to “press 1 to connect.”
- Robocalls work by sensing when the recipient picks up the phone and speaks. Once they hear a sound that isn’t the sound of the phone ringing, the recording begins.
- Robocalls don’t press buttons. They just wait to hear a voice, then play the recording. By requiring all callers to press a button to connect, robocalls are blocked automatically.
Read More here: How to Stop Spam Calls On A Landline
Main Features
The main features of CommunityPhone are as follows:
- Unlimited nationwide calling
- Round-the-clock customer support
- The device sets up in 30 seconds
- Lets you have your existing number or get a new one
- Supports voicemail, call waiting, and text to landline
- Reliable features like call forwarding, simultaneous ring, etc.
How Community Phone Works
As mentioned, Community Phone’s landline network is based on cell phone towers. We offer a landline base device that wirelessly connects to a nearby phone tower to enable phone services. The base device sets up automatically, without needing a time-consuming setup, technical expertise, or internet. Though our landline base connects to a power outlet, it also has a 12-hour battery backup to keep you connected during power outages.
Benefits
Here are the top benefits of CommunityPhone’s landline service:
- Works during power outages
- Doesn’t depend on internet availability
- Supports advanced calling features
- Doesn’t require technical expertise
- You don’t have to set up a copper wire connection
If you’re looking for robocall-free landline service, click here to sign up at Community Phone today!
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking to prevent robocalls, try blocking them with *60 code or sign up with the National Do Not Call Registry. But, don't expect much. The scammers ignore the registry, so it won't stop the problem. At least then you will know that every time you receive a call that isn't from a political campaign, or a charity, it's a scam. That said, switching over to a phone service that automatically scans against robocalls is a good long-term solution.
If that’s what you’re looking for, CLICK HERE to get started with CommunityPhone today.