Feeling your phone buzz in your pocket is always a bit of an exhilarating feeling. Maybe you’re getting a call from a new potential employer, old friend, or a loving family member.
But when you pick up the phone and hear a stranger on the other end. It’s nothing short of infuriating. Nearly 50% of Americans report receiving a spam call every single day.
Unsolicited phone calls are forms of communication that are made without your consent. This includes spam calls, robocalls, telemarketers, and everything in between.
Not to mention, unsolicited communication can take the form of text and email, too, making it hard to hide from these frustrating forms of spam.
If you’re as tired of unsolicited calls as we are, don’t worry. There are solutions to make them stop.
Where Do Unsolicited Calls Come From?
Sometimes it feels like more strangers are trying to reach out to you as compared to real friends and family. Most of these nuisance calls are coming from spammers who are trying to gain information from you, or they’re telemarketing calls trying to sell you something.
Fraud calls from scammers are typically the most dangerous. These are coming from individuals attempting to solicit personal information like your bank account information or social security number to steal your identity. The goal with these calls is usually to try and steal money.
Telemarketers are another type of spam caller who intends to sell you something. While this is not illegal, it can still be enough to make you want to toss out your phone and never use it again.
Recognizing Unsolicited Calls
When it comes to fraudulent calls, individuals may use certain tactics to make you more likely to give in to their demands. This can make it difficult to know when a fraudulent call is unsolicited or if it’s coming from a reputable source.
Generally, if someone calls you and claims to work for a government agency or major tech company, like Microsoft, it’s probably an unsolicited call. These sorts of institutions rarely contact you unless they’ve corresponded with you earlier through other means, such as email.
Also, if a call is pitching a product or service that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Take caution whenever someone offers free travel, debt forgiveness, cash prizes, or freebies over the phone.
Finally, scammers will often use tactics to create a sense of urgency, such as telling you it must be completed immediately.
There is rarely a circumstance with a time constraint, so this is likely proof of spam.
How to Stop Unsolicited Calls
If you’re tired of getting robocalls every time you pick up the phone, you’re not alone. The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to get them to stop.
Block Each Number
One quick way to make sure unsolicited calls don’t bother you anymore is by blocking them after they call. This ensures that the same number is unable to reach you ever again.
On an iPhone, you can do this by just going to the Phone app. Tap “recents” and then hit the blue information icon next to the number you want to block. Then, just tape “Block This Caller.”
On Android, it’s a similar process. Go to “recents” in the Phone app. Long press, or hold down, the number that you want to block and then click “Block.”
While this is effective, it can take a lot of persistence to block every specific number that comes your way. Additionally, it’s a reactive method, meaning it requires an unknown number to call you before you’re able to prevent them from reaching out again.
Add Yourself to the Do No Call List
The Do Not Call Registry is a government-run service that can help block telemarketers from calling your home. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) made it illegal for most robocallers to contact numbers from the Do Not Call Registry, exempting charities, telephone surveyors, debt collectors, and political organizations.
Violations of these federal laws could lead to big fines or sanctions for those unknown callers if they continue to send you unwanted calls, and you can easily report them to the FTC and FCC online.
It’s quick, easy, and free to add your device to the Do Not Call Registry, and it can save you some unwanted frustration in the future. All you do is register your phone number on the list. Within 31 days of registering, telemarketers who call you at that number will be fined thousands of dollars.
Use a Call Blocking App
One of the more effective ways to prevent spam calls from ever even making it onto your phone’s screen is by using a call blocking app.
Many third-party apps use a blacklist approach in which you can block a caller after you’ve identified them as spam. The issue with this is that once a spam call comes through, it puts you at risk of falling for their traps.
Firewall uses a whitelist approach that gives you total control of whose numbers are allowed to pass through your phone’s barrier. You’ll choose who is allowed to give you a call, and it will filter everything else out.
This is useful, as you’ll always know who’s calling at any given moment so you can identify exactly when and when not to answer that phone with spam alerts and caller ID. It even transcribes your voicemail, so you’ll know why they’re calling you in the first place.
Importance of Blocking Unsolicited Calls
Understanding how to recognize unsolicited calls and how to stop them is essential for your privacy and safety. In fact, Americans lost $29.8 billion to fraud calls alone in 2020.
Blocking spam calls can ensure that your privacy is kept sacred, including your name, number, bank account information, and social security number. It's not enough to reject calls—protect your home phone and cell phone numbers by following the simple instructions above.
Call blocking apps and services can also give you peace of mind that you’re not going to be bothered by these frustrating types of calls.
Conclusion
Unsolicited calls are forms of communication that are made without your consent. While they are sometimes just telemarketers trying to sell you a product or service, they can be fraudulent scammers trying to access your financial information. Either way, blocking them is essential for your privacy and comfort.
One form of anonymous call rejection uses your phone directly, but you can also prevent calls from coming through by adding yourself to the Do Not Call registry.
This will work for your landline phone, your smartphone, and wireless home phones alike.
With that said, using a call blocking app tends to be one of the more effective options for preventing and reducing unsolicited communication from ever filling up your inbox.
Get the Burner app now and get unsolicited calls to stop.
Sources:
List a Number on the National Do Not Call Registry | Federal Trade Commission
Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams over the past year | CNBC