CitizensUtilityBoard.org 1-800-669-5556 Guide to Fighting Robocalls February 2021 The latest news on the robocall 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 fraud. 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-telemarketing 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 email 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.