How many times have you picked up the phone assuming the call was important only to hear another offer from a pesky telemarketer? How many times were you expecting a call from a friend or family member only to be disturbed by a fraudster looking to scam you out of your hard-earned money? If you have received one unwanted call too many, it is time to put an end to it and prevent other sellers, fraudsters, and pranksters from harassing you ever again.
Here is how you can easily stop unwanted calls.
Add Your Phone Number To The National Do Not Call Registry
The federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry is designed to reduce the number of telemarketing calls from legitimate businesses. To stop getting calls from telemarketers, all you have to do is send an email to donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to register. This applies to both cell and landline numbers. The number of telemarketing calls you get will decrease after a period of 31 days, but keep in mind that the Registry cannot protect you from scammers and other unwanted callers.
Report Scam Phone Numbers
If you get a call from a suspicious or unknown phone number, it is a good idea to check who the caller is. You can find out who the unknown number belongs to directly through our site. In case a number gets flagged as a scam phone number, be sure to report it to the FCT, which releases reported numbers on a day-to-day basis and helps other law enforcement agencies fight those who make illegal phone calls.
Block Phone Numbers
There are several ways to block unwanted phone calls on both your cell and landline phone. To block phone numbers on your landline, do the following:
- Contact your service provider and ask about available call-blocking options. Popular providers like AT&T, Verizon, and Spectrum offer blocking options that use quick-dial number combinations to activate and deactivate call-blocking features.
- Purchase a call blocker device with an included spam registry that helps block spam and robocalls.
To block numbers on your cell phone, here is what you can do:
- Depending on the phone manufacturer, use your device’s built-in options to block unwanted phone numbers.
- Talk to your service provider about available call-blocking options for cell phones. AT&T offers a free app called Call Protect, which you can download and use to block unwanted phone numbers. Verizon also provides a free call-blocking service that allows you to block up to five phone numbers. To block more phone numbers, you may need to pay a monthly service fee.
Tell The Caller To Stop Calling
If you are not dealing with a robocall, you can always ask the caller to stop calling your number. Most of the time, telemarketers are just regular people doing their jobs, so they are likely to respect your decision. In other cases where the caller tries to scam you for money or your personal information, you can threaten by saying you will call the authorities and hope they will take it seriously.
The options mentioned above will help you stop or at least reduce the number of unwanted calls you are getting. While telemarketers or scammers may not give up easily, with the help of phone lookup sites and government services, you can take steps to protect yourself and help others who may fall victim to scam or harassing calls.