I've been getting a lot of robocalls lately so I was delighted to read a Wall Street Journal article by Jennifer Waters about the new service Nomorobo that will intercept robocalls and put them on the FTC list to stop the calls.
"It
doesn't matter if you're on the Do Not Call List," says an FTC spokesperson. "A lot of them are fraudulent calls and people who engage in fraud are not
going to abide by the Do Not Call registry."
According to Waters:
"A
robocall is what you hear when you answer the phone from an autodailer with a
taped message, sounding like a robot. Millions of calls are made
instantaneously and could be targeted directly at you or totally at-random
dialing that stumbles upon your number."
"If
the call turns out to be a politician or a charity, their solicitations are
lawful. You might also get robocalls from your children's school informing you
of canceled classes, an airline warning you of a flight delay or a doctor's
office reminding you of Tuesday's appointment."
"Those
are legal because you gave them permission. But sales pitches you didn't
knowingly give your written OK to aren't."
If you get robo calls: "file
a complaint at the FTC's donotcall.gov site." DO NOT respond by pressing a number to supposedly get off the robo caller's list!
Waters writes: "Here's
what else you can do:
Don't
answer unfamiliar numbers.
Hang
up immediately.
Never
give out personal information.
Call
your phone provider but be wary of fees tied to blocking calls."
Watch the 4 minute video that explains Nomorobo "a service developed by software programmer Aaron Foss, who won $25,000 in the FTC's challenge for a robocalls solution" http://nomorobo.com/
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