What You Can Do to Stop Unwanted Robocalls — Windstream’s Spam Call Alert

The Different Types
Know that not all robocalls — those with a prerecorded message or artificial voice — are illegal. Think of the ones you may get from your pharmacy that let you know when you may need a refill as an example. Or, the ones informing you about a school closure.1. Spoofing
Spoofing occurs when a caller deliberately misrepresents the information transmitted to your caller ID display to mask his or her real identity. When done maliciously, the trick is part of a broader scheme in which the caller will try to get personal or sensitive information from you. Know, too, that businesses may use this as a way to call without showing a toll-free number.
In recent years, this has taken the form of a number that may have the same area code as you or even the same area code and the first six digits of your phone number.
2. Political Calls
It’s the age when 20 plus candidates want to run for president. And, depending on where you live, local races may get heated, too. That means that you’ll likely receive a robocall here or there in support of or against particular political candidates. If you’re using a landline, the bad news is that these are allowed — even without your consent.
3. Commercial Calls
Commonly known as telemarketing, commercial calls are those in which a salesperson will call prospective customers to sell a product or service. These make up a large part of robocalls: one study estimates it was nearly 20 percent of the total amount of robocalls in 2018! Save for a few exceptions (political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors or companies with which the responding party has an existing business relationship), you will not receive telemarketing calls if you are on the Do Not Call Registry.
4. Scams
Nearly 40 percent of all robocalls are scams, according to one study. These can take the form of health or health insurance scams to tax scams. More often than not, these calls can appear as though they are coming from your bank, say, but will prompt you for personal information with which the scammer can steal your identity. Look for these other signs of a scam.
How to Stop Spam Calls
Now that you have a few ideas of the different types of calls you might receive, you’ll want to know what you can do about robocalls.- FRAUDULENT CALL: Calls originating from invalid, unallocated and unassigned telephone numbers, as well as calls originating from inbound-only numbers that should never make outbound calls.
- SPAM? with caller ID: Calls with a high probability of being a robocall.
- Regular caller ID: Information, including a name and address, will show as normal for these calls.
