3 Tips to Reduce Spam and Scam Calls in 2022

Do you feel you get many more spam calls than you used to? You’re not alone. Americans receive over 50 billion robocalls yearly, finally putting this issue on the US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) radar again in May 2022 (read the FCC initiate).

You probably have stopped answering your phone or have set yourself to a permanent silence mode for callers not in your contact list. Unfortunately, there is no turn-key solution to stop spam calls, but with a few simple steps, you can significantly reduce the number of calls you receive.

3 Tips to Reduce Spam Calls

1. First, use your free carrier’s app. Did you know that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile offer customers a free tier of their spam-blocking technology app? These apps work off of regularly updated lists of known spam callers so that they can automatically block spam calls for you. From what we can tell, most people are unaware they’re entitled to this technology for free.
2. Second, make sure you’re on the do not call list. You may have heard of this website year ago. It’s not 100%, but it helps reduce the number of spam calls you receive. Head to the FTC website and either add your phone number(s) or verify your registration is still valid. 
3. Third, keep blocking individual numbers. Receive a call you didn’t want? Manually block that number on your phone. Time-consuming? Yes. But this good, old-fashioned tactic does chip away at the possible spammer calls you receive.

What is the increase in spam and scam calls telling us?

Simple: it’s still successful. Robocalls coupled to scam call centers are connecting with people that are susceptible to falling for scams. 

What can you do about it? Seek out your friends and family that are likely to be susceptible to a scam call and talk about it. Help them with the #1 and #2 tips in the above section. You can also share these helpful articles:

• Seniors Against Scams Financial Education
• FTC Phone Scams
• AARP Phone Scams
• Social Security Scam Resources

We hope this information helps. Please reach out if you have questions.