When the Do Not Call List was created we thought that would end telemarketing calls. But we were wrong, on two counts: scammers do not care about breaking the law and technology has made it easy to make millions of calls cheaply. Last year Americans received 26 BILLION robocalls – up 50% from 2017! This year half of all calls to cell phones will be robocalls. Seniors, in particular, are targets. The Do Not Call List no longer works.
In the past few years the best way to prevent the robocalls now is to use a call-blocking service for both home phones and cell phones. It is kind of a “LifeLock” for phone calls. The most well-known service is Nomorobo (there are others). Speaking from personal experience, these services work 90+% of the time.
How it works: technology and databases of illegals robocallers enables the incoming call to be verified. If legitimate, allows the call to go through. If the call is not legitimate they block the call and notify the caller that the number has been blocked.
Nomorobo, and others, offer a service for home phones for free, although the service has some limits. They also have a service and app for cell phones. For an annual fee of $20 they will cover both home and cell phones. It may be worth the cost to remove the nuisance and possible danger of robocalls to seniors.
But recently there have been bills introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives to address the problem. Legislation introduced by both the House and the Senate would close the loophole on auto-dialers who now take advantage of outdated legal language. The legislation should deter legitimate businesses from abuse. It will require companies to use the technology that verifies telephone numbers to alert consumers the incoming call has been verified.
Legislation introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone of the House would also require phone companies to provide blocking services against spoofers free of charge.
For the past few years it has been strongly recommended that seniors do not answer calls from numbers not recognized; let them go into voicemail. That they do not answer questions over the phone or confirm the phone number or anything else over the phone. And to never give out personal information. However, there could be an inherent risk when people no longer answer the phone as the call might relate to their health or safety. This legislation will be welcomed by everyone and therefore we are looking forward to its quick passage.
