INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — If you're fed up with the amount of robocalls you've been receiving, here's some bad news: things are going to get worse before they get better. Not only are these phone scams coming at you more often, they're getting smarter, too.
There is help out there — from the government, from your cell service provider and from a growing number of robo-killing apps. But as of now, this robo-battle is conflict we are all losing.
In August of 2018, Americans received more than 5 billion robocalls. That's not 5 billion robocalls in the last 10 years. That's not even 5 billion robocalls in 2018. That's more than 5 billion robocalls in the month of August alone. Considering the fact we received 2.7 billion robocalls in August of 2017, you can see how quickly this problem is growing.
What is a robocall?
A robocall is a digitally dialed, automated phone call that is made by a computer system.
We've all received them: "Your car warranty is about to expire, and this is your final chance to renew it…"
"You are late on an IRS payment…"
"This is Rachel from cardholder services…"
And they all have one main goal: to get your money.
"Any time there's any kind of motive that's financially driven, more people are going to start doing it, and there's gonna be a larger quantity," said Mat Gangwer from Rook Security, an Indianapolis-based cyber-security company. "It's kind of the same thing we saw with spam email. You get more and more of them when people start making money off of it. So we're probably just grazing the surface of what we're going to be seeing because there isn't any really strong preventive measure in place to stop them."
Robocalls used to be so easy to spot. If you're getting a phone call from an "UNKNOWN" number or an out-of-state number, those are simple to ignore. After all, how many people do you know who would be calling you from Granite Falls, Minnesota?
But now, robocalls are taking advantage of a tool called "spoofing," which allows them to call a 317 area code number from fake 317 area code number. These calls don't originate from central Indiana (heck, they're probably coming from halfway around the globe), but they really make you curious as to who is on the other end of the call.
"I'm always wondering, is it the police department, was there an accident that my family was in or is there something else that I missed and need to answer," Gangwer said. "Most of the time, it's just an automated response, and I hang up immediately."
What should you do if you receive a robocall?
"Hang up the phone," said Kati Daffan, an attorney for the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Don't ever press any numbers while you're on the call, even if the robocall says it will get you off their call list.
"If you respond by pressing any number, it will probably just lead to more robocalls," Daffan points out.
Your smartphone has a feature to block specific numbers, but doing that may just be a waste of time these days because robocalls are constantly spoofing new numbers.
How do you get rid of robocalls?
The easiest method for beating robocalls is to simply ignore any incoming call that you do not recognize. If they're not in your contact list, they're not worth your time. But if you're in sales or if you are a reporter for a certain TV station like, say, WTHR, you're constantly getting calls from unknown numbers that you NEED to answer.
"It doesn't necessarily work for everybody in all professions because there are some people that need to take calls from numbers they don't recognize," Gangwer said. "But for the normal person at home (ignoring unknown numbers) might be a legitimate option to try and see if it reduces the number of calls."
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The next option would be to download an app to deal with robocallers. "Mr. Number" is an app that gives you the ability to block any number that is not already in your phonebook. It will also block numbers that are already on a national robocall list. "Robokiller" is a more aggressive app. It's an app that actually wastes the robocaller's time by giving it a recorded message to deal with. "You're basically putting a robocaller against a robocaller," smiles Gangwer. Some other apps which deal with robocalls include "TrueCaller," "YouMail," "Hiya" and "NoMoRobo."
You can also call your wireless service provider to find out what services they offer to help curb robocallers. AT&T has "Call Protect" and T-Mobile has a scam block tool, but they're not aways free. Verizon's "Caller Name ID" service will give you a ton of information on unknown callers who are bothering you, but it will cost you $2.99/month.
Registering your number at DoNotCall.gov is a good idea. Although this FTC registry won't spare you from calls from scammers and robo-thieves intent on breaking the law, it should prevent you from receiving "live" telemarketing calls, which are regulated by the federal government but are still not illegal.
Your local government is trying to stop robocalls
Right now, local lawmakers are working on a bill that could protect people from getting these scam calls. In fact, in Indiana there's an "Identity Theft Unit" that focuses solely on the problem. Indiana's Attorney General's Office is working with state and federal officers to crack down on scammers targeting innocent Hoosiers.
That's the good news. Here's the not-so-good news: By the end of 2019, more than half of the cellular calls made in the United States will be robocalls, according to First Orion, a call protection company.
On average, Hoosiers get more than 20 robocalls a month. That's a higher number than the national average. Translation: the good people of Indiana are being robo-targeted.
The Federal Trade Commission is getting swamped with complaints about robocalls: 375,000 per month. And that number is growing, too.
Oh, and now there's a new robocall scam that skips calling you and goes right to your voicemail. So soon, your voicemail inbox might be jammed up with bogus robo-offers.
Yep, the robo-world is growing. In fact, chances are, you probably received at least one robocall while you were reading this article. It looks like our smartphones need to get a whole lot smarter in a hurry.