ORLANDO, Fla. – We all hate robocalls and people are always asking News 6 how to stop them. So we put together this list of your options to cut down on those nasty time wasters.
GET REGISTERED
The first thing we recommend is making sure you're on the The National Do Not Call Registry, although it may not be quite as effective as it once was. Many legitimate companies do pay attention to the rules, but there's no guarantee everyone will. It's a start, though.
DON'T ANSWER
Lots of times, callers will use spoofing technology to call you with numbers that appear to be local to you. In some extreme cases, viewers report being called by numbers that appear to be their own, or of someone they actually know. So be wary -- and don't answer calls you're not expecting to avoid being annoyed. That's a little bit easier said than done when it appears to be your wife or husband calling you, which we've seen, but for the majority of unknown calls, it'll work. Also note that sometimes the call can appear to be from an unknown or private number.
BLOCK 'EM
Once you know a call is from a telemarketer, block that number. My smartphone has quite the extensive list of blocked numbers from this practice. After awhile, it's likely the telemarketers will just call from another number, but it may fend them off for at least a little while.
GO HIGH-TECH
Different mobile service providers do offer different services to help you battle robocalls. Click on the links below to find some solutions from your carrier.
THIRD-PARTY APPS
Free: Hiya is a free app that helps block robocalls for your smartphone.
Paid: NoMoRobo is free for your landline, but is $1.99/month for your smartphone.
Robokiller is $2.99/month for your smartphone.
