There is no question that millions of people deal with unwanted robocalls on a daily basis. According to Gerry Christensen, VP for YouMail Protective Services, illegal robocallers rely on obfuscating the truth and acting with impunity to effectively steal from a called party. The robocaller/bad actor gains trust by appearing credible and urging the called party to take some form of action that is in their best interest. With that said, how do people go about preventing unwanted calls?

In this article, we cover:

Why bad actors engage in robocalling

Gerry Christensen notes that bad actors engage in robocalling (as opposed to placing regular phone calls) for many reasons including the ability to achieve scale (many calls to many people very quickly) at a very low cost.

One of the big reasons that bad actors place robocalls is that they can act with impunity. They do this by hiding behind technology firewalls (so to speak) to hide their true location and identity. In fact, telephone number “spoofing” is one of the dirty tricks that bad actors use to trick called parties into answering the phone.

It’s safe to say that bad actors don’t care about the rule of law. Accordingly, the bad actors will call any number, regardless of whether it is on the DNC list or not. In fact, many bad actors break more than one law, such as violating the DNC and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

How to prevent unwanted calls

One can sign-up for the National Do Not Call (DNC) registry, which allows consumers to specifically state that they do not want solicitations. For would-be callers that follow the rules, registering a phone number in this manner is supposed to stop all commercial calls.

More specifically, registered numbers on the DNC list should not receive calls associated with any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. However, registering with the Do Not Call database does not stop calls by political organizations, charities, or telephone surveyors.

The US Government provides a National Do Not Call Registry, which allows consumers to specifically state that they do not want solicitations. For would-be callers that follow the rules, registering a phone number in this manner is supposed to stop all commercial calls.

More specifically, registered numbers should not receive calls associated with any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. However, registering with the Do Not Call database does not stop calls by political organizations, charities, or telephone surveyors.

It is easy to Submit a Consumer Complaint to the FTC. Consumers can file complaints associated with unfair business practices (such as callers ignoring the Do Not Call Registry).

What preventing unwanted calls can do you for you

Any company that you have ever had a relationship with may legally call you. In addition, some companies sell lists of names to other companies. One way to combat this is to tell the companies you do business with not to sell your information. Another thing one can do is to request to be removed from the telemarketing list generated by members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA or also referred to now as the Data and Marketing Association).

Preventing unwanted calls can free up your time and get you back to doing the things you love. In addition, it can allow you to devote more time to your business in order to grow sales and revenue.
If you’re ready to prevent unwanted but lawful calls, sign up for YouMail today.

*Information above taken from Gerry Christensen.


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