Tips to Reduce Robo Calls and Texts

Annoying sales calls have now morphed into bothersome texts as well. Technology provides us with options for getting in touch with those we want to communicate with. However, on the flip side, pesky sales callers now have additional ways to find you besides the phone. Texts are becoming a more common way for scammers to find you. Just remember that if they can find you, they can scam you.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is only too aware these problems exist. As a result, it created a Do Not Call Registry, providing consumers with an option for reducing those unwanted calls. There are currently over 217 million phone numbers on this list, and that number is likely to grow. Robocalls (calls made using recorded messages) are highly prevalent, allowing unscrupulous sales and scam contacts to be done on a massive scale.

Here are a couple of ways you can effectively stop or seriously hinder sales calls and texts:

Add your number to the Do Not Call list. Contact the FTC at 1-888-382-1222 or at the Do Not Call website. After your phone number is added, it takes just over 30 days for the calls to start dwindling.

Report unwanted texts to your cell phone service provider, and to the FTC. You can call them at 1-888-382-1222 or find a complaint form on the website.

Whether you receive annoying calls, texts or both, there are common sense efforts for keeping them to a minimum. Never follow prompts or text links from people or groups you don’t know. Following the prompt trail inevitably gets you deeper into more contact efforts from other unwanted sales attempts and it could result in malware being installed on your mobile device. If you’re tempted by hearing you won a prize of any type, chances are it’s just bait from scammers.

The good news is there are some ways to fight back. Although not always 100% sales and scam-proof, they can put a serious dent into how many of these calls and texts you receive. For better or worse, calls not subject to abiding by the list are political calls, calls from charities, or from companies you gave your information to at some point. So, no matter how many times you hang up on a political activist, there is really no escape other than not answering in the first place.