Robocalls are a part of our daily lives. If you've ever received a phone call from an unknown number, only to be greeted by a pre-recorded message selling a product or service you've likely never heard of, that's a robocall. These calls are ubiquitous and can target you anywhere, even if you’re at work.
According to data from Robokiller, the scope of robocalls is every bit as staggering as it is frustrating. In 2022, people in the United States received over 78 billion unwanted calls. This marked an 8% increase from 2021 and a new single-year record.
So, what are robocalls? What’s being done to stop them? And what can you do to mitigate your risk? We have the answers.
At their core, robocalls are any type of pre-recorded call you receive, often from the likes of a scammer, telemarketer, business, or political campaign. Typically, these calls reach your phone without permission.
While the technology robocallers use is often sophisticated, the idea behind it all is anything but. Most people are familiar with the idea of getting a call, looking down at their caller ID, and seeing a number they don't recognize. They answer, only to get a pre-recorded message either aggressively pushing a legitimate product or service or inviting them to participate in a likely scam. That’s a robocall in action.
It's important to note that robocalls and autodialers are different concepts. Whereas robocalls contain pre-recorded messages, auto dialers may have a live representative on the other end of the line. When you pick up, there may be a brief pause before you speak to someone — that’s because the person is using software to dial as many telephone numbers as possible, only to be immediately transferred to whoever picks up the phone first. This is still irritating but is a different scenario from a robocall.
What makes a robocall potentially unlawful is the fact that you have not interacted with the company in question in any way prior to that moment. In order for a company to legally contact you by phone, you need to have given them permission to do so. Since the chances are almost 100% that you have not done so, any robocall that you receive will likely be illegal. Of course, there are a few notable exceptions to the rule.
It should also be noted that just because you receive a call from a number you recognize, that doesn't mean you're not getting a robocall. Scammers will often "spoof" telephone numbers to make it seem like they're calling from a familiar number or area code when they're really calling from someplace else. Be on the lookout for these calls, as well as situations where your phone is telling you that the caller is using a blocked caller ID, has no caller ID, or has an unknown caller ID.
Sadly, irritation is not the only consequence of illegal robocalls. According to Robokiller, Americans lost more than $65 billion to robocalls in 2022. That’s more than double the amount they lost in 2021 ($30 billion). Considering scam calls cost people so much money and continue to increase in volume, it’s imperative to stay ahead of them.
Interestingly, our research suggests that while scam calls and unwanted calls do tend to run the gamut in terms of who they target, some states tend to feel the brunt of the aggression. Texas, California, Florida, Ohio, and Georgia received more robocalls than any of the other 45 states. Texas received more than 10 billion alone.
Recognizing that this is a serious issue that negatively impacts the lives of millions, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have taken numerous steps over the years to help address robocalls.
One of the most significant measures was the passage of the TRACED Act, which happened in late 2019. The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act built upon the foundation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 by affording the FCC greater power to deter robocalls that violate the rights of consumers. It dramatically increased the potential fines and penalties that a company might face if they violate the law.
Under the TRACED Act, penalties for any robocall violations come with a maximum fine of up to $10,000. This is true even in a scenario where no criminal activity or other illicit intent was associated with the call. The legislation also put into place new requirements for voice providers to leverage technological solutions and develop call authentication technology to protect the rights of consumers across the country.
All told, the TCPA and the TRACED Act are designed to regulate both robocalls and the use of auto dialers. This is true for not only the types of unwanted calls that you're getting to your cell phone, but also to your residential landline as well.
While technology itself tends to evolve faster than the law, it’s important to note that the TRACED Act and the TCPA are being updated on a regular basis. Thanks to a recent court case involving Facebook, for example, the scope of what can be considered an auto dialer was adjusted to cover more modern devices that did not fit the technical definition in the past.
STIR/SHAKEN, short for Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN), meanwhile, was designed to reduce the volume of scam calls and other unwanted calls that people get via spoofed caller IDs. The framework, which is mandatory for voice service providers, is designed to create a call authentication framework that protects Americans against these misleading calls.
Thus far the standard has shown promise in reducing spoofed calls, but it does have limitations. Ultimately, the more carriers that participate, the more effective the legislation will become. Therefore, any increase in the number of participants is very much a good thing.
Sadly, robocalls are a problem that is certainly getting worse over time. Scam calls claiming to be from government agencies offering financial relief, or calls claiming to be from the IRS insisting that you owe money when you know you don't, are common. Thankfully, government legislation and ongoing efforts to curb robocalls are helping to reduce the frequency of some of the most prevalent scams.
On an individual level, there are steps you can take to reduce the amount of robocalls you receive.
If you receive a robocall on your phone, and you know with certainty that it’s a spam call, don't pick up the phone. Some people like to speak to a representative and playfully waste their time just as the scammer has done to them. Resist the urge to do this. Picking up the phone only confirms in their system that they are speaking with a live number, which virtually guarantees you will continue to receive similar unwanted calls in the future.
For a short-term resolution, you can block individual callers. However, this won’t solve your problem for good, as robocallers are able to spoof numbers and reach you from another set of digits (over and over again).
You might also decide to put your number on the Do Not Call List. Although that’s an important step to take and helps the government combat illegal robocalls, it falls short of solving the problem. Scammers aren’t generally concerned with whether or not your number is on it.
In the end, the best thing you can do to solve your robocall problem is download Robokiller for iPhone or Android. Robokiller protects you against over 1 billion known scams and uses predictive analytics to stay ahead of emerging threats that might bypass the filters listed above.
