Do you find yourself frequently answering calls, only to discover another spam robocall on the line? Efforts like caller ID authentication and Branded Calling ID have helped significantly reduce spam calls. As of 2024, consumer reports to the FTC of unwanted robocalls decreased by 50 percent since 2021.  Further demonstrating that enforcement efforts are making a real impact.

What are robocalls?

Many robocalls are illegal scams, often originating outside of the United States. Scammers impersonate trusted agencies to trick you into handing over money or personal information, making these calls hard to trace and difficult to regulate.

However, not all robocalls are bad. Some serve legitimate and helpful purposes, such as reminders from your doctor to schedule an appointment or alerts about school closures. Helpful calls also occur during election season, giving reminders to vote or text messages with policy priorities. While helpful, there are compliance rules that candidates must follow, including proper disclosures for pre-recorded or artificial voice messages. It’s important to be mindful of what’s a helpful call and what might be a scam.

How to protect yourself.

The best way to protect yourself is by ignoring calls from unknown numbers. But be careful – many scammers “spoof” calls to make them appear to be from local numbers. If you accidentally answer a suspected spam call, hang up immediately.

You can also take action by reporting unwanted robocalls to the federal government. File a complaint online through the FCC or FTC, and consider these additional steps to minimize spam calls:

• Use call-blocking apps or enable your phone’s built-in spam protection.
• Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls.
• Forward spam text messages to 7726 (SPAM) to alert your wireless carrier.

How wireless carriers and the government are protecting you.

In recent years, the federal government and wireless providers have made stopping scam robocalls a top priority. At the federal level, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has implemented key policies like caller ID authentication or STIR/SHAKEN, a system that verifies whether a call is coming from a legitimate source. To tackle scams originating abroad, the FCC has also formed international partnerships to track down scammers.

At the same time, carriers are stepping up protections by blocking calls from fraudulent numbers and area codes. Beyond filtering out known scam numbers, providers are leveraging advanced technology to detect new robocall scams before they reach you.

Through use of new authentication technologies and dual initiatives with federal enforcement agencies, wireless providers are working to keep your phone free from unwanted robocalls.

By staying informed and using available tools, you can better protect yourself and help reduce unwanted robocalls for everyone. While government and wireless providers continue to develop solutions, taking personal action goes a long way in keeping you safe.