Fight Back Against Robocalls
We are not helpless, though. And neither are you! It is time for us to unite, to rise up and say, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!” Oh, wait, that’s something else. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with Howard Beale’s iconic “I’m mad as hell” speech from the 1976 movie “Network,” you will find it still has a lot to say to us.) But where were we… oh, yes, robocalls. Fortunately, the folks at AARP put together some tips for dealing with the rise in robocalls. If you want to “join in the fight,” they recommend that you:- Install a call blocker on your phone. “Try a free solution to see if it does the trick. No-cost services from firms such as YouMail and Nomorobo are carrier-agnostic. (Nomorobo is free for landlines but $1.99 a month for cellphones.) Your mobile carrier has free tools, too,” AARP says.
- The only problem with call-blockers is that they may block some calls that you actually want. AARP says, “It may take trial and error to avoid a ‘false positive,’ the term for a legitimate call that is stopped.”
- This one is much simpler: “Hang up if it’s a live person calling, as computer-based robocall systems allow. Do. Not. Engage.”
- If you don’t recognize a number, even if it made it past the call-blocker, don’t pick up. Let it go to voicemail. “If the caller claims to be, say, from Citibank, don’t call back a phone number left on voicemail. Use a number you know is legitimate, such as one on a statement or credit card.”