Recent developments promise that robocalls may soon be on
the wane.
Chris Kissell
• September 10, 2019
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As
anyone with a telephone knows, robocalls are a major nuisance. In August, about
4.8 billion robocalls were placed around the nation, according to the YouMail Robocall Index.
While
it might seem as though the irritating calls will never end, hold the line!
Recent developments promise that robocalls may soon be on the wane.
Here
are three reasons robocalls could someday be a thing of the past:
1. Telephone companies are fighting back
In
August, a dozen of the nation’s biggest telephone companies agreed to crack
down on robocalls by implementing technology that will identify and block these
irritating calls.
The
telecom industry and attorneys general from every state and Washington, D.C.,
worked together to reach the agreement. Carriers who have signed on to the deal
— including AT&T, Comcast, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon — will soon:
- Implement
call-blocking technology.
- Offer
anti-robocall tools for free to customers.
- Deploy a system
that labels calls as real or spam.
There
is no deadline for implementation of the agreement, but Josh Stein, North
Carolina attorney general, told The
Washington Post he expects changes to occur “as soon as practical.”
2. Federal and state authorities are cracking down
The
Washington Post also reports that in June, authorities at both the state and
federal levels announced 94 enforcement actions against illegal robocallers
that allegedly placed an estimated 1 billion robocalls to consumers.
The
move signaled that governments are getting serious about cracking down on the
perpetrators of robocalls, the newspaper says.
In
addition, the Federal Communications Commission recently issued rules that
encourage carriers to enroll customers in call-blocking technology by default, as
opposed to enrolling customers only if they first opt in, the Post reports.
3. Call-blocking technology is widely available
Tired
of waiting for the government and telecom companies to get their act together?
You can take matters into your own hands by adopting one of many widely
available call-blocking technologies.
Some of
these services are free. In other cases, you’ll pay a modest fee. To learn more
about your options, check out “7 Ways to Stop
Robocalls in Their Tracks.”
Of
course, the best call-blocking technology might be the machinery whirring
between your ears. Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson says a little common
sense can help put robocalls on hold.
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