Please Stop Calling – You’re Bothering Me

By Maureen Crimmins on November 7, 2018 in General

cell phones photo The house phone rings, but I do not bother to answer it. I let the machine pick up the call and most likely, the caller will hang up because it is a sales call. For some reason, I just can’t pull the trigger to get rid of the house phone completely.

The “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” voice inside my head refuses to let me shut down the home line. The reality is that no one important uses the land line to contact us; they all call our mobile phones.

The problem is, the scammers and spammers have now invaded the mobile phone market. There is not a day that goes by that I do not receive a call to my cell phone from some unknown number. The caller id displays phony “spoofed” numbers that appear to be local or from trusted businesses. These numbers are changed frequently and too many times I pick up the line which only makes the problem worse. Once the Robocall knows that your line is active, you get more calls.

There are many tools to use to stop or at least hinder these calls to you mobile phone. Some services are free while others cost a few dollars a month. Customers of AT&T can use Call Protect, Verizon Wireless provides Caller Name ID, Sprint offers Premium Caller ID and T-Mobile has Scam ID and Scam Block.

To block a number on an iPhone, open the phone app,tap the circled “i”icon to the right of the spam number that called, scroll down and click on Block this Caller. For Android smartphones, open the phone app, and tap the calling number, select Details, then Block Number.

There are a number of apps that you can download on your phone to stop robocalls. RoboKiller won the FTC’s robocall blocking contest while seeking revenge and time with the scammers. The cost is $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year. Nomorobo is another app that has been highly effective and has won high praise. The cost is $1.99 per device per month. Truecaller is available in a number of languages and Hiya has no ads. YouMail is another option that offers a voicemail replacement at no cost.

In addition, make sure you mobile number (and landline number as well) is on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Click here to register your phone: Do Not Call

Here’s hoping that the apps and registry will offer some peace and quiet!!!

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