“I’ve been speaking to a robot.” Beware, robocalls were on the rise in 2017
Do you live in USA, Australia or somewhere in Europe? There’s a significant chance you've experienced this for yourself: you answer a phone call, but then realize that you aren’t speaking to another human being. How’s that possible? It’s easy: you’ve just been attacked by a robocall.
Let’s compare some numbers. According to a recent FTC report, the agency received 4,5 million robocalls complaints, plus an additional 2,5 million complaints about live telemarketing calls in 2017. A year ago (in 2016), there were “only” 3,4 million robocalls and 1,8 million live telemarketing calls.
The robocalls are on the rise, that’s for sure. But why? The report says it’s because of cheap access to internet calling services and autodialing. It’s also getting easier for spammers to hide their true identity and location. For example, people reported more “neighborhood” number spoofing, where calls appear to come from a local area code, in 2017.
Robocalls? Be more clever than telemarketers
Yes, some automated calls, such as those from schools or pharmacies, can be useful. However, most of robocalls are just stealing your time (and money as well). So what to do about it?First of all: registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry can help for sure, but not every telemarketing company takes this registry into consideration. Therefore, the easiest way how to protect yourself is to download an app that will automatically block (robocalls and other nuisance calls) for you.
One of today's most popular robocalls blockers is the Should I Answer app. You can download it for your Android for free. And say goodbye to robocalls for ever. (Not an Android user? Let’s check the new app for your iPhone.)
