FCC Votes To Give Phone Companies Power To Block Robocalls From Reaching You

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – If all goes as planned, less robocalls may make it to your phone soon.

"The reason for this call is to inform you that IRS is filing a lawsuit against you."

That's the sound of a phony, fraudulent, and down-right annoying robocall millions of Americans have received.

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to give wireless phone carriers the right to block those calls automatically, without needing the customer's permission.

The technology works by using algorithms and network scanning to identify unwanted calls, similar to how email providers scan for spam messages.

"It gives us an extra tool in our arsenal to go after the robocallers and the scammers," Ronan Dunne, the Executive Vice President & Group CEO for Verizon said.

It's not clear yet how many robocalls will be blocked by the new scanning technology or whether you'll have to pay for the service.

Thursday's vote did not require robocall blocking to be provided to consumers for free.

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