Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form








​news

How to stop robocalls and spam calls to your phones

3/4/2021

 
Picture
by Burton Kelso, The Technology Expert
     During most of 2020, robocalls came to a screeching halt, but now these scam calls have come back with a vengeance. It doesn't matter if you receive calls about your car's warranty, your late payments to the IRS, or the fact that your computer has been infected with a deadly virus, they only have one goal and that is to trick you out of your hard-earned money.
     The reason these calls continue is that they are pretty successful.  Research company Statista reported that Americans lost up to $20 billion dollars to scam phone calls in 2020. 
     I'm sure you think there isn't anything you can do to stop these annoying calls, but there are some very easy steps you can take to give you a break from scammers.

1. Be very cautious with whom you share your number with.
     To cut down on the number of scam calls, guard your phone number. When you hand out your landline or mobile number, you never know who your number will be shared with. Your number can wind up in the wrong hands if you share it with a business you trust and they share it with marketing firms. 
     Your phone number can also be obtained in a company data breach which is then dumped on the dark web for any scammer to get. Criminals can also get your phone number if you share it on a company website and even your social media accounts. If you want to have a 'public' number, set up a Google Voice account (www.google.com/voice). 
     This service allows you to create a virtual number (and voicemail) which you can share with others without the risk of having your main number fall into the hands of scammers.

2. Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry list. 
     Although it's not foolproof and won't stop calls from scammers, you should take a minute to make sure you're on the Do Not Call Registry list by visiting www.donotcall.gov. 
     You can choose to add your landline or your mobile phone. When you sign up, it can take up to 30 days for it to take effect, so be patient. Doing this will stop telemarketing companies from calling you.  
     Even after you sign up, you may still get calls from charities and businesses that you've worked with within the past. If this happens, you will have to verbally ask them to be removed from their list.

3. Block those unwanted calls.
     If you own an Android or an iPhone, you can check out awesome features that will halt those annoying calls.  

     Android users, just follow these steps:
Go to Settings.
Then, tap on Block numbers.
Toggle the Block unknown callers button to enable the feature.
Now, you won’t have to worry about frustrating notifications clogging up your phone screen.

     iPhone users: Take advantage of the 'Silence Unknown Callers' tool.  Your phone has to have iOS 13 or 14. This feature will block numbers that aren’t in your contacts list. to turn it on, do the following:
Go to Settings.
Then, tap on Phone.
Scroll down and select Silence Unknown Callers.

4. Use the tools available from your mobile carrier.
     If you own a smartphone, the best way to stop robocalls is to see what options your mobile phone provider can offer.  Here is what each one offers:

AT&T. If you use AT&T, you can download the free 'AT&T Call Protect app'. 

Verizon. If you’re a Verizon user, check out the 'Call Filter app'. They also offer paid solutions if the app doesn't take care of those annoying calls.

T-Mobile & Sprint. Check out the ScamShield app for your devices.

5.  Download an app. 
     If none of the above tricks work, there are some apps you can download. One of the best products to use is Robokiller (www.robokiller.com). 
     Promising to block 99% of spam calls, you get the added bonus of having actor/rapper Ice T answer your calls as well as other answer bots that make it entertaining to see a scammer get frustrated when they call you.

     There is no foolproof way to eliminate scams and robocalls because criminals are constantly changing their tactics to reach out and touch you and your wallet. If you use the steps listed above you, they are a great way to eliminate those unnecessary calls which will keep you safe from falling for the latest phone hoax.

Looking for More Useful Tech Tips?
     Our Tuesday Tech Tips Blog is released every Tuesday. If you like video tips, we live stream new episodes of 'Computer and Tech Tips for Non-Tech People'  every Wednesday at 6:00pm CST on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Technology product reviews are posted every Thursday. You can view previous episodes on our YouTube channel.  

     Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to burton@callintegralnow.com. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I'm serious about making technology fun and easy to use for everyone. Our team of friendly tech experts organization can help you with any IT needs you might have.  Reach out to us a www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829. 

 
Picture

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid19
    Covid-19
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Technology
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

Grain Valley News is a free community news source published weekly online. 
(c) 2023 Grain Valley News

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
Picture