Spam Calling - How to Alleviate This Annoying Problem

I don’t know about you, but I am constantly getting spam calls on my cell phone and home phone.. These calls continue to surge and no matter what efforts lawmakers and regulators take to curb them, it seems they are not slowing down. YouMail reported that more than 12 billion robocalls were made to American homes which is about 4 million every hour and does not even include the live calls from telemarketers which is also increasing. These calls distract us from our work and are a total waste of time.  With the internet having everything we need just a click away, if we want to buy, we can find what we want. What I don’t want is to be sold to which is exactly what the spammers are attempting to do.

Here are a few ways to reduce the spam calls you are getting by up to 90%

1.    Answer your phone with silence. When you say hello or anything else, the automated voice activation launches the robocall recording or transfers you to a call center. Saying nothing will usually disconnect the caller. SILENCE CAN BE GOLDEN

2.    Trap with an App. There are lots of smartphone apps that allow you to block and flag fraudulent calls and text messages. On a landline, use *77 to block “anonymous and private numbers and deactivate it anytime with *87. To block individual numbers that get through on an Iphone, -open the phone app, tap the circled “I” icon to the right of the spam number that called and tap Block This Caller. For Android smart phone users, open the phone app and tap the calling number, select Details, then Block the number.

3.    Know which calls to avoid. The experts tells us that the most common calling cons are those that promise to reduce debt and offer lower credit card rates or low cost vacations.

4.    A dropped called or one ring is a common way that prompts people to call back thinking they missed an important call. The area codes 268,294,809 and 876 which originate from Caribbean countries with high per minute phone charges.

5.    The highest day for robocalls tend to be on Tuesday and Friday and the most targeted numbers are in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Birmingham and Miami.

The statistic that surprised me the most was that scammers and spammers spend about $438 million dollars per year on robo calls which generate more than 20 times that amount in income – which is almost 10 billion dollars. Just imagine if that time and resources were put toward something that would help humanity instead of stealing our time and our money in an uninvited unscrupulous way.

To sum it up, consider getting a Google Voice phone number which is free and allows you to screen calls and also take advantage of the ways you can block these unwanted calls.  

My favorite way to get a cold call - if there is such a thing is to have the caller say - This is a cold call at the beginning of the call. I then have the opportunity to listen or to says, thanks but this is not a good time or of interest.

If you are in direct sales or network marketing and get a live telemarketer, there is an opportunity to find out if the person calling loves their job and if not, perhaps explore if they might be interested in hearing about what you do. It is amazing how this works.

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Rhonda Sher is a LinkedIn expert, profile writer and connection consultant. A good friend once said, if you want to get the word out about what you do, there are three forms of communication, telephone, television and tell Rhonda. Let me know how I can help you be more visible, credible and profitable using LinkedIn or with your networking. I look forward to connecting. You can get a free copy of my booklet 7 Steps to a Profitable Profile at Yourconnectionconsultant.com