CitizensUtilityBoard.org 1-800-669-5556 Guide to Fighting

February 2021

The latest news on the fi ght Robocalls are prerecorded messages from computer-generat- ed dialers, and Illinois is one of the nation’s hardest hit states. In early 2021, for example, the state received more than 153 million robocalls (about 57 per second) in the span of just one month. That ranked Illinois eighth in the country for these calls, according to the robocall-blocking fi rm YouMail. While there are helpful robocalls (alerting you to school closings or when a prescription is ready), YouMail estimates about 42 percent of the calls in Illinois were scams and another 22 percent were simply marketing pitches. Unwanted robocalls are annoying, and costly. The Federal Com- munications Commission (FCC) put the price tag at $3 billion a year just from lost time, not even counting any . TechRe- One in 10 Americans public put the total annual loss for consumers at $9.5 billion. are scammed each year, While policymakers are fi nally starting to act against illegal robo- calls, don’t wait for federal law to catch up. Use the simple tips in resulting in an annual loss of this guide to protect yourself from unwanted calls.

The law The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and $9.5 billion Deterrence (TRACED) Act became federal law in 2019. The act increases penalties and requires phone companies to validate Source: TechRepublic, calls before they reach you. This is to combat “spoofi ng,” October 2019 when a robocaller uses your area code and/or prefi x to ap- pear as if someone locally—maybe a friend or neighbor—is Note: In December 2020, the FCC ordered that organiza- trying to reach you. If your cellphone labels a call “Scam tions can make no more than three non- calls Likely” or “Spam Risk” that’s probably the result of your wire- to a residence in a 30-day period. This is a step in the right less provider responding to this law. Under federal rules, all direction, although it will take months to go into eff ect. phone companies must utilize this technology by June of 2021, but a full implementation could take much longer than that. The latest scams Remember, with sales robocalls—prerecorded calls promot- If there’s a two- or three-second delay when you pick up the ing goods or services—a telemarketer must fi rst have your phone, it’s a recorded call. And it could be one of these scams. writt en consent, otherwise it’s illegal. Government imposters: The robocall claims to be from the Some prerecorded messages are legal, including: Social Security Administration or Internal Revenue Service, • information-only calls, such as fl ight cancellations, ap- and the imposter might have a fake name/number dis- pointment reminders or school closing announcements; played on your caller ID to look offi cial. The prerecorded voice may announce that you’ve been the victim of stolen • calls from a business to collect a debt you owe; identity or a participant in a crime and you must call a • calls from or on behalf of politicians; number to fi x the matt er. At that number, a swindler will try to get your personal information. Remember, police • calls from certain health care providers, such as a phar- and other government agencies don’t accept gift cards to macy informing you a prescription is ready; pay tickets or other debt. If you have questions about an • messages from banks, telephone carriers and charities, agency, call it—with a number you fi nd yourself. as long as those entities make the calls themselves. COVID-19 tricks: Scammers may try to lure you into giving up

1 Guide to Fighting Robocalls personal information or money in exchange for a place in line 5 steps to reducing robocalls for a COVID vaccination. No legitimate organization makes You won’t completely avoid robocalls, but you can reduce such requests in exchange for a vaccine. Also, beware of robo- the number you receive. scams about stimulus checks. Step 1: Confi rm you’re on the Do Not Call List. Electric scams: The robocall begins: “This is an apology call from your electric provider...” It asks you to press 1 It’s true, scammers get around the Federal Trade Commis- to get a refund and a discount on your power bill. That’s sion’s Do Not Call Registry, but it’s still a good idea to join when a salesman comes on and tries to switch you to an al- the list. ternative supplier that could easily charge you much more than your utility rate. Beware! You will get fewer robocalls from companies that fol- low the law—then you know a sales call is likely from a “Say yes” scams: An automated voice asks, “Can you hear scammer. If your number is registered, you can report me now?” If the call lures you into saying “Yes,” it can use off ending companies to help build a case against them. the recording as proof that you gave permission to sign up for a costly off er you normally wouldn’t buy. Register your home and cellphone numbers (or confi rm those numbers are already on the list) here: Other scams: Robocallls may warn you of a fake warranty expiring or off er low credit card rates. They may claim you’ve Call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register won the lott ery, or off er health insurance savings. The call (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) or register online at DoNotCall. may say “Take advantage of these free programs!” and name- gov. (You will receive a confirmation that you drop existing programs or businesses to appear legitimate. must respond to within 72 hours to complete your reg- istration. You only have to register your number once.) Tip: Reader’s Digest reports that area codes: 473, 809, and 900 are the biggest culprits of scams. Beware of any sales call that off ers to put you on the Do Not Call List. “No company making a sales call has the power” to do that, Reader’s Digest warns. What NOT to do Step 2: Use voicemail as a weapon against robocalls. when you get a robocall One of the easiest ways to fi ght robocalls is to screen calls through your voicemail/answering machine. Telemarketers It’s best NOT to answer a suspicious call. But often hang up when the call goes to voicemail. if you do answer a sales robocall: With a landline answering machine, if the caller is a friend, pick up the phone before he or she is done leaving a mes- • DON’T stay on the line. Hang up immediately; sage. With a smartphone Caller ID, you can screen for • DON’T try to call the number back to friends and let everything else go to voicemail. complain. That might lead to more calls; The CEO of one robocall-blocking service told USA Today that he advised his mom to simply turn off her ringer, send • DON’T follow the call’s instructions. If a calls through an answering machine, and then monitor robocall offers you the option of pressing messages. a number to stop future calls, that might Step 3: See what your phone can do for you. just be a trick to confi rm that your num- ber is “live” and ripe for more calls; Spam-blocking : Your phone may have this functionality. The directions may vary depending on the phone, but typi- • DON’T say “yes.” Beware of the “say yes” cally, here’s how you check if it’s activated. scam (see the description on this page). • iPhone (iOS 13) users: Go to “Sett ings,” and then “Phone.” Select “Silence Unknown Callers.”

2 Guide to Fighting Robocalls • Android users: From the Phone screen, hit the three ver- ing on the device. If you have additional questions, contact tical dots at the top. Tap “Sett ings.” Choose “Caller ID & your phone’s manufacturer or visit Support.Google.com spam” or “Filter spam calls” to turn it on or off . (for Androids phones) or Support.apple.com (for iPhones). Your smartphone’s number-blocking technology: If you get Try your smartphone’s Do Not Disturb feature: This could an unwanted telemarketing call, you can block that number be an eff ective solution for a lot of people. In this mode, for good. your calls are sent directly to voicemail. You won’t get noti- The directions below are general—steps may vary depend- fi ed, so you might miss some calls you want, but you can

Blocking calls on iPhones: 1) On your list of recent calls, tap the 2) Choose to block this caller. 3) Confi rm you want to block the contact. info icon (the encircled “i”) next to the caller you want to block.

(847) 555-1212

(847) 555-1212

+1 (847) 555-1212

J. Smith (5)

J. Doe

Hardware Store

+1 (312) 555-1212

J. Doe

Blocking calls on Android phones: 1) On your list of recent calls, tap on the 2) Scroll down and tap “Block.” 3) When asked to confi rm, tap “block.” caller’s name and long-press the number.

3 Guide to Fighting Robocalls set it up so calls from people in your contacts list can ring. Step 4: Ask your phone company about free services. The directions below are general—steps may be diff erent de- Call-blocking services from your digital home phone (also pending on the device. For more details contact the phone’s known as Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) company: manufacturer or go to Support.Google.com and search for Internet home phone services—like digital phone “Do Not Disturb on Android.” Or, visit Support.apple.com service and AT&T’s modern, digital landlines—off er free and search for “Do Not Disturb on your iPhone.” call-blocking features.

Setting Do Not Disturb on iPhones: 1) Go to Settings and choose “Do Not 2) If the Do Not Disturb button is green, 3) If you want to ignore all calls except Disturb.” it’s on. Then select “Allow Calls From.” those from your contacts list, choose “All Contacts.”

Setting Do Not Disturb on Android Phones: 1) Go to Settings, choose “Notifi ca- 2) If the Do Not Disturb button is blue, 3) To ignore all calls except from your tions,” and then “Do Not Disturb.” it’s on. Then select “Calls, messages, and contacts list, choose “Contacts Only.” conversations.”

4 Guide to Fighting Robocalls For example, AT&T off ers “Digital Phone Call Protect.” phones. See the chart on page 6.) If youhave digital phone This free service automatically blocks calls from known service, fi nd out what free services your company off ers. spammers (they get a busy signal) and Caller ID tells you if AT&T: ATT.com (Search for “call blocking for digital other calls are suspected spammers. phone”), 1-800-288-2020 Xfi nity says Anonymous Call Rejection, which automati- Comcast XFinity: XFinity.com/support (Search for “How to cally rejects calls from numbers with Caller ID blocked, is stop unsolicitied robocalls to your home”), 1-800-934-6489 standard for most customers. Call-blocking services from your wireless company: Your car- These providers also off er the eff ective robocall-blocking ser- rier off ers robocall-blocking protection. CUB does not endorse vice Nomorobo for free. (Nomorobo also is available for smart- off ers, but the chart below gives examples of what’s available.

Your wireless company’s call-blocking services Note: Due to new federal legislation and rules, many of these robocall protections may be standard on your plan. Always check with your carrier to verify what free protections are available and if they are already activated for your account.

Carrier Plan Price Notes For more info

Automatically blocks suspected scam calls and alerts you to telemarketers ATT.com (Search and calls that are a “Spam Risk.” You FREE (Advanced “Call Protect”) can block those calls or send them to service, “Call voicemail. You also can send unknown Call Protect Plus,” is OR AT&T calls to voicemail. Only available for Protect included in some AT&T HD Voice-capable iPhone plans or costs 1-800-331-0500 (iPhone 6 or newer running iOS ver- $3.99/month/line.) (611 from your AT&T sion 9.3 or higher) or an AT&T HD phone) Voice-enabled Android smartphone. Devices bought through companies other than AT&T may not be eligible.

Suspicious calls are labelled “Scam T-Mobile Likely,” and then can be blocked. T-Mobile.com Offers a free second “proxy” phone (Search for “Scam Note: FREE. (Advanced number you can use for online sign- Shield.”) T-Mobile service, “Scam ups and subscriptions (to avoid giving bought Scam Shield Shield Premium,” out your real number). For T-Mobile, OR Sprint and costs $4/month/ Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint cus- discontin- line.) tomers. Available for Android Kit Kat 1-800-937-8997 (611 ued that (5.0) OS or higher and iPhone oper- from your T-Mobile brand. ating systems 10 or higher phones. phone) Not available for prepaid customers.

Screens incoming calls, labelling risky numbers as a “Potential Scam” and can VerizonWireless. FREE (Advanced send certain spam numbers directly to com service, “Call voicemail. Available on standard Verizon (Search for “Call Filter Plus,” costs wireless monthly and prepaid plans, Filter”) Verizon Call Filter $2.99/month/line compatible with most Verizon phones. or $7.99 for 3+ (Verizon now automatically enrolls OR lines.) certain customers with Android devices, but with other phones you may have to 1-800-922-0204 download from the app store. )

5 Guide to Fighting Robocalls Step 5: Check what third-party services are available. Find out if there’s any risk the device will block legitimate incoming calls in an emergency or good robocalls (a message Call-blocking devices for your traditional landline: Unfortu- from your pharmacy that a prescription is ready). Finally, nately, people with traditional copper landlines—those who make sure the device is compatible with your landline. For could be targeted most by scam artists—often have the fewest people worried about being victimized by a robo-scam, this tools to fi ght robocalls. If you own a traditional landline, you could be a solution—just not a free solution. can’t use an app to limit robocalls. Instead, you could use an answering machine to screen your calls. Another option is Apps for your wireless phones: Applications, available in to buy a device that connects to the phone and blocks calls. the App Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android Examples include Sentry 3.1., CPR Call Blocker and Digitone phones, can help weed out robocalls and scam numbers. ProSeries Call Blocker. (A review on Amazon.com found call- CUB does not endorse apps, but the chart below summariz- blocking devices ranging from about $30 to more than $160.) es some of the available options. (Note: Nomorobo works on digital home phone, or VoIP, service also.) Typically, these devices are based on a “” database of known spammers and a “whitelist” of numbers approved by Remember, not all apps are compatible with all devices. Also, you. Before you buy such a device, read the fi nd print. Learn while some apps are free to download and use, they may off er how its database is maintained, as scammers change the num- upgrades with more features at an extra cost. As with any bers they use often. app, read the privacy policy to fi nd out what kind of informa- tion is collected (especially for an app that’s free).

Third-party apps

App Price Notes For more info

Hiya: Spam Identifi es calls/texts you Free. Premium service costs $3.99/ Phone Call want, blocks the numbers Hiya.com month or $24.99/year (after free trial). Blocker you want to avoid.

Free for people who have Voice Over Automatically blocks spam/ Nomorobo.com Internet Protocol (VoIP) lines—in- scam robocalls, but allows (For a list of all the cluding AT&T and Xfi nity/Comcast good robocalls (school clos- VoIP providers that Nomorobo digital phone. For people with smart- ings, prescriptions) to pass offer Nomorobo, phones, $1.99 per month after a free through. Winner of the FTC’s see Nomorobo.com/ 14-day trial. Robocall Challenge in 2013. signup.)

Automatically blocks more Free week trial then $4.99/month than a million telemarketers or $39.99/year through Robokiller and robocalls, even if they’re RoboKiller Robokiller.com website. (Purchases in App Store or trying to spoof or change their Google Play are cheaper.) numbers. Winner of the FTC’s Robocall Challenge in 2015.

Identifi es spam calls/texts and Free with ads, but you have the op- allows you to block them. Has tion to purchase a premium pack- Truecaller a custom call-blocking feature Truecaller.com age with no ads for $4.49/month or that allows you to block other $29.99/year. calls you don’t want.

Blocks spam/fraudulent ro- YouMail Voice- Free with ads. You can purchase a bocalls, allows you to add to & Spam plan with more voicemail features for the list of restricted numbers YouMail.com Block $7.99/month. or about $72 a year. and offers cloud-based visual voicemail.

6 Guide to Fighting Robocalls Bonus tip: Robotexts mers know that the number is actively in use. No mat- ter how annoyed you are, engaging is likely to make Robots aren’t just calling your cellphone, but texting it too. the problem worse. More than 70 percent of all cellphone text spam is designed to defraud you in some way, according to a study by • Don’t click on links in the message. Links can install Cloudmark, a company that makes anti-spam software. on your phone or take you to sites that look legitimate but are soley designed to steal your informa- It is illegal to send commercial messages to your wireless tion. devices without your prior writt en consent, but noncom- mercial messages like political surveys or fundraising mes- • Forward the texts to 7726 (SPAM). This works for sages are allowed. AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. It tells those wireless companies to block future texts from those Just like robocalls or email spam, text message spam numbers. tries to get you to share personal information or click on a link to install malware on your phone. • Review your cellphone bill for unauthorized charges and report them to your carrier. These unsolicited messages could slow your cellphone performance by taking up memory and depending on Filing a complaint with the FTC your phone plan, could lead to extra charges on your cellphone bill. If you get harassed by robocalls, fi le a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by visiting FTC.gov/com- Many of the tips to reduce robocalls will work to reduce plaint and click on the FTC Complaint Assistant icon, or text spam as well. Some text-specifi c things to know are: calling 1-877-FTC-HELP. • Text messages that ask for personal information are You will be asked a series of questions. The more informa- scams. Legitimate companies don’t ask for information tion you can provide, the bett er chance you have at gett ing like account numbers or passwords by email or text. a response and action being taken. Have the following • Don’t reply. While you may have requested to receive information readily available: regular texts from your doctor or your favorite cloth- ing store, beware of texts from unknown companies • Contact information (your name, phone number, email). or companies that usually don’t reach out to you that • Name and number of the company or person calling you. way. Even if the message says you can opt out of future texts by replying STOP, your reply may just let scam- • Information related to the call, such as what the robo- call claimed.

Sources for this guide You can fi nd links to all sources CUB used to write this guide on our WatchBlog: htt ps://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2020/02/12/robocall-guide-sources/

7 Guide to Fighting Robocalls