Put an End to Robo-Calls
(WellnessPursuits.com) – It doesn’t matter if they’re telemarketers or scammers, robo-calls can be annoying and imposing. They seem to target us during the most inopportune times, and sometimes they’re relentless. While there’s no sure way to rid yourself of every unwanted solicitation, there are a few things you can do to minimize the annoyance.
Register with the National Do Not Call Registry
The first thing you need to do is register your phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry. Once you’ve been registered for 31 days, you can report unsolicited calls to the FTC. Companies that violate the National Do Not Call Registry can face fines up to $41,484 per call. Adding your number to the registry doesn’t protect you from calls made by bill collectors, political organizations, telephone surveyors or charities.
Number Blocking Service
Although most telemarketers honor the National Do Not Call Registry, some scammers refuse to play by any rules. In order to rid yourself of some persistent callers, you might need to block their numbers. One way to do this is to sign up with a number-blocking service like Nomorobo. These services redirect calls depending on source, so you only receive the ones you want.
Block Numbers Through Your Phone
You can also manually block individual numbers through your phone. Both iPhone and Android have easy steps you can follow using your phone’s settings menu. If you have any difficulty, YouTube also offers step-by-step tutorials, like this one and this one.
Don’t Engage
Still find yourself answering robo calls? Don’t press any buttons or engage in any way. If you do anything to let the computer know you’re there, it’s likely to send your number to a database for future calls. Simply hang up, take note of the number, and report it to the FTC. Unfortunately, some illegal callers have ways of tricking your caller ID into giving a false number, so tracking down the actual source to some may require FTC investigation.
You might not be able to rid yourself of robo-calls completely, but with a few steps you can keep them to a minimum. For more information on how to protect yourself, go to https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/.
Here’s to Your Healthy Pursuits!
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