Robocalls on the rise: Americans get
18 spam calls per month, report says
USA Today,
by
Kristin Lam
Original Article
Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk,
12/4/2019 10:46:35 PM
The United States is again the eighth-most-spammed nation in the world and the annoying calls are on the rise, according to a new report.
Americans received 7% more spam calls in 2019 compared to the year before, said Truecaller, a Swedish company that tracks spam calls, but hung on to their ranking from the last annual report.
The report Tuesday comes after efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to crackdown on robocalls, which are the No.1 complaint consumers make to the agency.
Truecaller found robocalls in the U.S. increased by 35% in the last year, despite the four major service providers offering tools to block unwanted calls
Reply 1 - Posted by:
droopydog 12/4/2019 10:57:29 PM (No. 252999)
I recently turned on an i phone feature that ignores (no ring) numbers that are not in my address book. It's a good feature.
5 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
BarryNo 12/4/2019 11:05:56 PM (No. 253002)
I get 3 to 5 per day. When I demand to speak with a supervisor, they hang up, complaining I'm being aggressive.
5 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
cor-vet 12/4/2019 11:27:00 PM (No. 253012)
I'm 77 and hopefully, through these calls, I'll be able to resolve the problems with my student loans (never had one), I'll get the warranty on my 1969 Gremlin straightened out (never owned one), I'll get my credit rating of 840 fixed and I'll be able to get a lower interest rate on my home mortgage (which was paid of over 15 years ago). All joking aside, the calls really are annoying, but I'll bet somehow congress has exempted themselves, which is why nothing will get done.
15 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 12/4/2019 11:32:54 PM (No. 253016)
I am getting 3 and as many as 6 each day. Most of the time, just let it ring.
7 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Lucky5 12/5/2019 1:15:17 AM (No. 253040)
I have my business landline in my home for over 25 years. I get around 10 spam/robo calls a day. Often before 8am, and on weekends. I block them but they are endless and they spoof most the numbers, so as a business it sucks to know you might be blocking legit numbers.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
BreakRight 12/5/2019 2:08:14 AM (No. 253059)
They drive me nuts during the Medicare health insurance enrollment period, I must get 6 to 10 calls a day. If I listen through the initial message, they tell me to press a number to be taken off their call list, but the same callers just keeps on calling, often several times a day (by each caller). My cellphone has a number in a different time zone so I get these calls starting around 7am. I have never responded by buying anything from these calls, or even opting to listen to their pitch, so one would think they'd give up, but NO-OOOO!
Why should I have to pay an extra monthly fee for a phone service that allows me to block these nuisance calls (or thousands of dollars for a smartphone)???
These calls should be illegal, with very stiff fines for each unsolicited call.
9 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
BreakRight 12/5/2019 2:11:45 AM (No. 253060)
PS, my guess is that the phone companies love and encourage these calls, since they incite customers to upgrade their phones and service level... more profit.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 12/5/2019 2:37:34 AM (No. 253068)
I get at least two a day, including one this morning that actually spoofed my own cell phone number. Apparently I called myself but was too rude to leave a voicemail so my phone blocked me.
My solution has been a free app called Hiya. It responds to unknown numbers with a text message stating that I am screening my calls and to respond with a text to be cleared. So far, not one person has responded to the text message.
2 people like this.
Ad blocker won't let me read the article. However, I was getting calls all day everyday. It's because of companies selling your information. One was my HOA's management company. I think my lender sold it also.
You are expecting important calls and answer and somebody around the world says "I want to buy your house. We pay cash" There is a Brit, if I find him, it's gonna be bad. Things changed when I changed my message to "Message line. I do not want to sell my house and I have insurance."
2 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Catherine 12/5/2019 4:23:18 AM (No. 253091)
# 8 - we got several calls like you did, with our own number in the screen where caller's number should be. I will answer these calls, push the green button then instantly push the hang up button. We've been here for years and still, to this day, get calls for "David Morgan." No idea who he is. I've told them repeatedly he no longer has this number. Now they are calling threatening legal action if he doesn't call back. Stay tuned!
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
globalwarmer 12/5/2019 5:43:19 AM (No. 253120)
Robokiller is a fun app.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Lazyman 12/5/2019 7:38:13 AM (No. 253218)
Funny how we pay no attention to a ringing phone anymore but later at our convenience check caller ID and call back friends. Meanwhile, instead of our elected representatives at the Federal level working to alleviate a quality of life issue for us, they press hard to impeach a duly elected President who hurt their feelings which they are attempting to classify as a "high crime."
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 12/5/2019 9:09:34 AM (No. 253341)
only 18? Wish I were that fortunate. Oddly enough, my land line is worse than my cell. I intend to get rid of my land line eventually. I estimate over 90% of my calls are garbage. Just got another call offering me a low interest rate credit card. Go away!
1 person likes this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 12/5/2019 1:18:19 PM (No. 253623)
I get about 4 or 5 per day.
0 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
kono 12/5/2019 2:12:20 PM (No. 253670)
18 a month? My sister gets 18 a day, at least. The line that belonged to her husband still gets a few every day from people who never got the word that he died 6 years ago.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Smart11344 12/5/2019 3:12:17 PM (No. 253732)
I lost my landline for over a week because a construction company dug up the phone lines. In one day my cell phone got 8 calls. Now, I am also getting fake Amazon calls. My guess is most of these calls are VoIP from Asia. With the technology the government has I cannot believe they can't uncover the perps.
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Folsomguy 12/5/2019 4:15:22 PM (No. 253776)
It's the only reason to have a landline. That's the only number I ever give to anyone who is not a friend so I rarely get robocalls on my cell. The landline is another story; calls at all hours that get answered after 3 rings with a message saying..."I'm not available. If you are a vendor put me on your don't call list; otherwise leave a message."
0 people like this.
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I got three robocalls today. My simple solution is having a landline only, without an answering machine. That and caller ID means I ignore call by turning off ringer. I'm retired. What else do I have to do? Bueller?