Are you receiving more spam calls than calls from your loved ones these days? Telephonic spam has increased tremendously in the past few years, mostly thanks to our information being more readily accessible. Unfortunately, it seems that adding your number to the Do Not Call Registry does not work like it used to. It’s reported that the FTC received more than 7 million complaints about spam callers in the last year, a number that is sure to keep growing.
So, if the Do Not Call Registry is failing to work, how can you block spam callers from wasting your time? Using a mobile app seems like the best option, due to their ability to use large databases of fake numbers to block these types of calls.
Below you will find a handful of apps that are successfully blocking most, if not all, of these spam phone calls.
This is a free app that allows you to choose whether to block spammers or be alerted to potential spam callers. Hiya can detect “neighbor spoofs” which are usually numbers with the same area code, so it seems local and legit.
This is an app that costs about $2 per month and works a bit more reliably than the free apps. The WSJ says, “It can shield you from pesky SMS text spam, too – and all without accessing your personal contacts, so your privacy is never at risk.”
This app will cost $6 per month due to its ability to unmask the fake number. If you’ve received “No Caller ID” calls, then this app may appeal to you. Simply decline the call, and then TrapCall will ring the call back to you with the true phone number where the call originated from. This allows you to block that number from calling you again. TrapCall also gives you the ability to record the call, in case you were being consistently harassed and needed evidence (if it’s legal in your state to record a call).
This app is for people who want a bit of revenge on the scammers. Rather than simply blocking the call, RoboKiller will use answer bots to frustrate and confuse the callers with prerecorded messages, such as someone coughing incessantly into the phone or kids crying and screaming. This app costs about $2.50 per month.