3 On Your Side: Stopping Telemarketers
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Even though millions of people are on the National Do Not Call Registry they still get unwanted phone calls from telemarketers and computerized robocalls. But 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds there are a few different ways to stop them.
Laura Miller has a message for robocallers, and it plays automatically when one tries to call. It says "If you're a telemarketer or a solicitor of any purpose, please hang up right now". The $40 call blocker by Sentry answers her home phone and only lets callers through if they press "one", something a robocaller can't do. According to Miller, "I just forewarn anyone that's calling they're going to get that message." Miller says she has now stopped getting calls from telemarketers too, something that The Do Not Call list wasn't able to do.
While the national Do Not Call Registry is a great tool to stop legitimate telemarketers, there are a growing number of products intended to block all the others.
Anonymous call rejection is free. Just dial *77 from your land line to block calls from blocked numbers.
For unwanted calls to your cell phone? Well, there's an app for that. Several in fact.
Privacy Star "screens" calls and rates them red, yellow or green based on the calling activity and complaint "history" of a number.
Then there's Nomorobo, the winner of the FTC's robocall challenge. The free service screens out illegal robocallers and telemarketers.
Not every call blocker works with every phone provider or system. So if you have to pay to buy an app or service, be sure to read the fine print first. For instance, among the carriers in our region that are compatible with the free Nomorobo service are Comcast and Verizon Digital Voice and Vonage.
For more information visit:
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/robocalls
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.privacystar.android&hl=en
