Americans received 4.7 billion robocalls in January: here's how to stop them
CHICAGO - They are becoming more and more annoying. Unknown numbers calling you time and time again.
Just last month alone, Americans got 4.7-billion robocalls. But you have the power to stop them.
Most of us deal with annoying robocalls multiple times per day and on Wednesday, the Illinois Attorney General announced he, along with dozens of other state attorney generals on both sides of the aisle, want to change a federal law so that robocalls become illegal.
"These calls dupe people into solicitation and they often get people to do things that they ought not to get into," said Illinois AG Kwame Raoul.
Raoul joined 35 other state attorney generals in calling for a change to the "Telephone Consumer Protection Act," to close a loophole that allows robocalls used to collect unpaid debt to the government.
"This is not the only thing we're doing to fight robocalls. We're working with the FTC and we also try to advise people to use certain apps to not eliminate but reduce robocalls," Raoul said.
To fight robocalls on your phone, Raoul recommends installing one of the following apps on your phone: NomoRobo, Hiya, RoboKiller, TrueCaller, YouMail, and Spam Phone Call Blocker.
"We've also appealed to the phone companies to take action and filter out these calls as well, so it's a comprehensive approach to a huge problem which we all face. No matter what part of the country you're in," Raoul said.
If your phone is getting spammed, he reminds consumers to use common sense.
"If it's not a call from an entity that you're actually dealing with or someone you know, hang up. If it's not someone you know, hang up," Raoul said.