If you’re like most people, you happily answer your home phone hoping perhaps it’s a friend or family member only to hear seconds of silence…. before you realize your mistake.
Few things can be more annoying than answering the phone while you’re in the middle of something — and then being greeted by a recording or perhaps a sales person trying their best to sell you something you don’t want or need.
The FCC says, If you receive a robocall trying to sell you something (and you haven’t given the caller your written permission), it’s an illegal call. You should hang up. Then, file a complaint with the FTC and the National Do Not Call Registry.
I’m all for following the FCC’s directions but if I followed their reporting steps for every unwanted robocall, I’d be spending all my free time filling out reports and forms trying to stop something I never opted in for in the first place.
Now there’s another way to try and beat these callers. Say hello to NoMoRobo!
How does Nomorobo work? Nomorobo uses a feature known as “Simultaneous Ring”. When simultaneous ring is enabled, your phone will ring on more than one number at the same time. The first device to pick it up gets the call and the other phones stop ringing.
So, when the Nomorobo number is enabled as a simultaneous ring number it is the first number to screen the call. If it’s a legitimate call, the call goes through to your number. If the call is an illegal robocaller, Nomorobo intercepts the call and hangs up for you. Your phone will ring once letting you know that the robocall has been answered and stopped.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOMOROBO BLOCKS A CALL? When NoMoRobo blocks a call it gives them a message saying we have blocked the call. The message requests that the caller re-enter the phone number of the person they are calling. If by chance a legitimate caller gets stopped they will know the number to enter. RoboCalls and RoboSales people have no idea what number was dialed so they can’t respond and they get disconnected.
WHO CAN USE NOMOROBO? The NoMoRobo service works with phone lines provided by Verizon FIOS, Comcast Xfinity, AT&T, Vonage Time Warner and a host or other landline providers.
WHAT DOES NOMOROBO COST The best thing about NoMoRobo is that the service is absolutely FREE for landlines. This makes it pretty much a no brainer for many of us. They also have a version that works on mobile phones as well which only cost $1.99 per month. If you have one of those phone plans that charge for minutes, then this $1.99 could save you money if you get numerous RoBoCalls on your cell. I’ve just started getting these unwanted calls on my cell recently and it seems they are becoming much more frequent as time goes by.
For more information and to sign up for either the free or paid service here’s the link to their site: www.NoMoRobo.com
I’ve only just signed up so my “first hand” experience is limited. There are other Call Blocker technologies out there but they all cost some amount of money. NoMoRobo is the only FREE service currently available.
