Preventing Robocalls
Americans received 3.34 billion robocalls in December 2023 alone. For far too long, Americans have been plagued by the barrage of harmful and illegal robocall schemes. Please find information below on my efforts to prevent the bombardment of unsolicited calls and steps you can take to stop robocalls and avoid scams.
Legislative Efforts
Throughout my time in Congress, I have been involved in finding ways to address the relentless bombardment of unsolicited calls.
In December 2019, I was proud to support S.151, TRACED Act. This bill will put a stop to the endless robocall schemes, by instituting a nationwide call authentication technology that will allow every American to verify and block every call they receive, allowing consumers to trust their caller ID again. This bill also included language I helped introduce which would prevent the harmful practice of one-ring scams that prey on the most vulnerable populations.
Since then, scammers have continued to find new ways to take advantage of hardworking Americans. This is a constant battle, and we must continue our work as some of these schemes have evolved around the preventative measures we’ve constructed.
Congress has been working closely with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to identify ways to stop unwanted calls and protect consumers from scams. Please know I remain committed to pursuing solutions to address this evolving threat and hold the responsible parties accountable. Below you will find actions you can personally take to prevent robocalls and protect yourself against any scams.
Do Not Call Registry
The Federal Trade Commission manages the National Do Not Call Registry, which is designed to prevent unwanted sales calls from real companies that follow the law. You can register both home and mobile phone numbers for the list by visiting DoNotCall.gov or calling 1-888-382-1222. Please note that this list does not block calls from scammers but instead will prevent legitimate telemarketers from calling your device. If you still receive unwanted calls after registering for the list, please utilize the resources below.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you do receive an illegal robocall, I would encourage you to file a phone complaint with the Federal Communications Commission here. When filling out the form, please be sure to note the difference between unwanted calls and being spoofed. If it is an unwanted call, you will need to select "unwanted calls" on the form as the phone issue, and then "all other unwanted calls" as the sub-issue. If you received an unwanted call from an international number in a format other than 555-555-5555, you can report the number in the additional information field on the complaint form. If your number is being spoofed, blocked, or labeled as potential spam, you will need to select "unwanted calls" as the phone issue, and then "my own number is being spoofed" as the sub-issue.
Call Blocking and Screening
Call blocking is a tool utilized by many phone companies to stop unwanted calls from reaching your phone. Please reach out to your phone company to explore any solutions that may be available to you and to see if they have a service you can enroll in to block these calls. There are also apps you can download for your mobile device to block or label potential spam calls, and you may be able to adjust certain settings on your phone to block suspected unwanted calls. For more information on call blocking and a list of tools currently available to consumers, please click here.
Avoiding Scams
Please keep the following tips in mind from the FCC's Consumer Guide to avoid potential phone scams.
- Do not answer calls from unknown numbers. Please note that the Caller ID showing a "local" number does not necessarily mean that it is a local caller.
- If you do answer the phone by accident, hang up immediately. Do not respond to any questions from the caller, especially those that can be answered with yes.
- Scammers will also frequently ask you to hit a button to stop receiving calls. Please do not hit any buttons and simply hang up the phone.
- Do not give out any personal information including account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls. Please exercise caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
- Please also be cautious when receiving unexpected calls from someone who says they represent a company or government agency. The FCC recommends hanging up the call immediately and then calling the company or agency back from the phone number listed on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request.
- If you have a voicemail account set up through your phone service, please be sure to set a password for it. A hacker could potentially spoof your phone number and gain access to your voicemail.
There has also been an uptick in imposter Medicare scams. To learn more about how to protect yourself against Medicare scams, please click here.
Resources
FCC Call Blocking Tools and Resources
FCC's Consumer Guide to Stopping Unwanted Robocalls and Texts