THIS WAS PUBLISHED AS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR A MOBILE MEDIA CLASS
What are Scam Calls?
Scam calls are phone calls that try to collect your information through a variety of methods. These methods include but are not limited to telling you you’ve won a prize, claiming your accounts have been frozen, or threatening you with fines or jail time. These calls are often robocalls, or calls which are placed by a computer with a robotic or prerecorded voice on the other end rather than another human. By some estimates, at least 25% (one quarter) of all telephone calls in the United States are robocalls. The issue with spam calls is that they are hard to stop, as the technology available allows for a phone call to go out to millions of numbers with the click of a button. (Noguchi, 2019)
According to research done by the FCC, the number of complaints about unwanted calls including robocalls and telemarketing calls has fluctuated throughout the past few years, but in 2018 complaints spiked. While there are other factors involved in this spike, there is a strong chance that the volume of complaints received is influenced by the volume of robocalls. (FCC, 2019)
I usually just let those calls go to voicemail. Do these scam calls actually work?
While there are many consumers who ignore spam calls, many still fall for them as they prey on fear and target individuals who they know are vulnerable. Scams cost Americans an average of $10.5 billion a year, according to the scam call blocker Truecaller. This is proof that even if only a small fraction of people who receive the spam call fall for it, the scam is still profitable.(Noguchi, 2019)
What is being done to prevent these calls?
As per the demands of the FCC, United States phone carriers have to install new technology to authenticate real calls and flag potential spam by the end of 2019. (Noguchi, 2019) Most carriers have also begun to adopt spam-blocking features. Many companies and developers have also taken steps to help users avoid unwanted phone calls. Apple’s new software update iOS 13 has released a new feature which is also meant to silence robocalls. This feature called “Silence Unknown Callers” sends all unknown numbers straight to voicemail, except for those which have been previously called numbers, numbers saved in contacts, and Siri suggested numbers from Mail and Messages. While these unknown call still sends push notifications, it is meant to stop users from being consistently bothered by spam calls they would be sending to voicemail anyway.
So we know that new technology is coming, but what about our current methods of prevention? Are they effective?
Not always. Many of the mobile carriers who already have spam-blocking features often only block known spammers. As far as the “Silence Unknown Callers” feature, it has a lot of other drawbacks which negatively impacts its users. Not every call from an unknown number a user receives is a spam call, and it is likely that users who turn on this feature will miss important calls from unsaved numbers like doctors offices or work. It is also important to know that note that not all robocalls are spam calls, and not all spam calls are robocalls. There are forms of robocalling which are legal, and many legitimate robocalls are made by businesses and institutions to convey information quickly and cost-effectively.
While spam calls have existed for a very long time, the effectiveness of the more recent methodologies of stopping them will be determined with time.
Read More:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Bureau of Consumer and Governmental Affairs. (2019, February). Report on Robocalls — A Report of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.fcc.gov/document/report-robocalls
Keck, C. (2019, September 24). Apple’s Call-Blocking Feature May Be a Little Too Good. Retrieved from Gizmodo website: https://gizmodo.com/Apples-call-blocking-feature-may-be-a-little-too-good-1838404108
Noguchi, Y. (2019, June 6). ‘Do I Know You?’ And Other Spam Phone Calls We Can’t Get Rid Of. Retrieved from NPR (National Public Radio) website: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/727711432/do-i-know-you-and-other-spam-phone-calls-we-can-t-get-rid-of
