You hear the ring in your pocket. You stop what you’re doing, grab your phone, and scan the number. You don’t recognize it, but it’s local, clearly, it’s important. “We have a 0% interest credit card for you.” It’s yet another scam robocall. Probably one of many that you received today.

You’re not alone. According to YouMail’s Robocall Index, 5.1 billion calls went out to unsuspecting Americans in October of 2018 alone, almost double from just eight months ago. That’s over 15 calls per person, per day.

Now, there are a few robocalls that are legal. Political calls, school and flight cancellations, solicitations from legitimate non-profits and debt collectors are among the select few. However, according to First Orion,  who specializes in call blocking technology, half the phone traffic in 2019 will be scams.

Why Do They Do It?
Simple answer: it’s cheap and it works. Using readily available voice over IP technology, robocallers can make literally millions of calls every day for just pennies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who oversees all business practices in the U.S., estimates that fraudulent calls cost consumers about $9.5 billion annually. That figure is backed up by a study from TrueCaller. Their results also show that approximately one out of 10 American adults lost money from a phone scam during the last year.

How Do They Do It?
One popular trick is to use what is called neighborhood spoofing. Scammers find every phone number in an area code, and start dialing. Using VoIP, they can choose what area code shows up on your caller ID, making it seem like a local number is calling. They can even clone the same three numbers of your own phone number after the area code, making it look like your next-door neighbor is trying to contact you.

What You Can Do
The first, most obvious thing to do is not to answer a suspicious call. Don’t try to talk to a person, don’t press “O” to talk to an operator, and do not text “STOP.” That just proves that the number is valid. Scammers will sell your number as a lead and it’ll increase the number of calls you’ll get.
It’s also a good idea to block the caller. This may seem pointless, as they can just change their numbers at will, but there are plenty of repeat offenders out there.

Most carriers now have free features that can scan or even block scam calls before they get to you. Make sure you are taking advantage of these features if your carrier provides them. Many also offer additional paid services that go the extra mile. AT&T offers a service that blocks specific categories of calls and includes reverse phone-number lookup for $4/month. Verizon offers a $2.99/month Caller Name ID service that can detect and block spam numbers. It also gives contact details of the person calling, even if they aren’t in your contacts. Sprint has their $2.99/month Premium Caller ID. It automatically rejects calls based on their fraud potential. T-Mobile provides automatic scam ID and call blocking for free.

Also, a side note: if you receive spam text messages you can forward the message to 7726 (it spells SPAM). It alerts your carrier, helping them block them from future attempts.

Add your number to the FTC’s No-Call List. It’s a constant arms race between the scammers and the regulators so registering won’t stop calls altogether, but it can reduce the volume of calls.

It may seem like a game of whack-a-mole, but take some time to fill out an FTC complaint as well. It helps them identify the most frequent offenders. It’s not entirely fruitless, the FTC and the FCC have caught some people and won judgments against shady organizations in excess of over $1.5 billion since the Do Not Call registry was enacted.

Technology Fights Back

Of course, there is an app for that. Truecaller, one of the biggest and most popular apps relies on 100 million daily active users to create a gigantic database of nuisance numbers. It automatically blocks known offenders. If you receive a call from an unknown number, you can paste the number into their search bar and they'll research who it is and add them to the naughty list, if applicable. It's free to download and use on both Android and iOS, with a $1.99 premium version.

Hiya also leverages a user-generated database. It also analyzes complaints made to the FTC and the FCC. Hiya blocks calls and blacklists unwanted phone numbers and text messages that other users have reported as spam. Hiya partners with manufacturers and carriers for their spam protection. They power Samsung’s and T-Mobile’s caller ID services and AT&T’s Call Protect service. It’s an incredibly lightweight app, available for both Android and iOS, and completely free and devoid of ads.

RoboKiller won the FTC's anti-robocall competition in 2015. They claim to reduce unwanted calls by up to 90% in 30 days. After a free 7-day trial, it’s $.99 for iOS and $2.99/month for Android. Like the others, they scan and block scam callers in real time. Their Super Caller ID displays a caller’s name, address, and even photos in some cases of people that aren’t even in your contacts. Where they really differ is how they take the fight to the callers themselves. They get revenge on spammers by using Answer Bots with funny pre-recorded messages that can keep the callers on the phone. The more time they spend arguing with a bot, the fewer people they can call.

What Does the Future Hold?

The robocall problem isn’t going away, as evidenced by the rise of complaints the FTC receives on the daily. These robocalls cost consumers money, time, and most importantly, sanity. Lawmakers are finally beginning to act, and manufacturers and carriers are teaming up to fight these pests. In the meantime, using these tips can give you your phone back. Hopefully, soon the only calls you’ll be dodging are from your mother.