How You Can Stop Illegal Robocalls

What they are, how to recognize them and how to protect yourself from scam calls

Deirdre van Dyk,

AARP

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En español

Published February 05, 2019

/ Updated June 24, 2024

an image of a robot with a smartphone body

Photo Illustration: Paul Spella

In this story

Size of problem • What are robocalls • Common scams • Efforts to combat • AI and robocalls • Protecting yourself • Reporting scams • More resources

Whether we’re sitting down to dinner or running an errand, our phones are with us — often bearing calls from criminals. Those crooks are behind an endless stream of illegal robocalls dangling goodies such as free cruises or lottery jackpots, demanding payment for nonexistent debts or perpetrating some other scam to steal your money or get your sensitive personal data.

In 2023, more than 55 billion robocalls were made to U.S. consumers, up 9 percent over the volume in 2022, according to YouMail, which provides call blocking and management services. Within that data, there are some positive trends, according to the company: Scam calls have dropped by 38 percent, with 8.1 billion recorded in 2023.

“Enforcement took out some of the big volume callers,” says Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. “Some of it is due to scammers getting highly targeted.” Even so, he adds, over the past 10 years, “we’ve gone from somewhere where you could trust the caller ID and trust the caller to you can’t trust anything.”

What are robocalls?

Generally, robocalls are prerecorded voices, and they may be made through automatic dialing technology. They tend to use VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which helped them become so pervasive. “Internet-based calling is fantastic in some ways; it’s enabled us to call our friends and family internationally for cheap and easy. But it’s also made it cheap and easy for the bad guys to call us,” says Josh Bercu, executive director of USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group, which works with providers to combat spam calls.

Not all robocalls are scams. Your doctor may use robocalling to remind you of an appointment, or an airline may share news about a flight change. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allows such robocalls, as long as they’re for informational or noncommercial purposes. Pollsters, political campaigns and nonprofit groups (including AARP) can also call you.

If you gave permission for a company to contact you, it can legally make a robocall. (You may not even realize you granted permission because the agreement was buried in fine print.)

Scammers can use caller ID spoofing to make it appear that they’re calling from a legitimate or local number. Although they used to take a scattershot approach to robocalls, criminals shifted to more targeted attacks on victims, using information from data breaches and other sources.

“Unfortunately, all this stuff is on data broker websites now, and it’s not hard to pull it,” Bercu says.

Common robocall scams

Criminals use robocalls to execute a wide range of scams. These are a few of the most common.

Government impostors. Criminals pretend to be from Social Security to steal your personal information; fake Internal Revenue Service agents may threaten you with arrest for unpaid taxes; “officials” offer government grants; or you could get a call saying you missed jury duty and must pay a fine.

Phony utility problem. Scammers threaten to shut off your electricity within 10 minutes unless you pay a fine immediately.

Package delivery issue. A message may say that packages have gone astray or that expensive charges were made on your account.

Romance scams. Callers try to engage in conversation and build a relationship leading to requests for money or investments in cryptocurrency.

Virus scams. Scammers pretend to be from a tech support company warning that you’re not protected.

Bank problems. Criminals pretend to be from your bank and tell you there’s a problem with your account or there’s been a data breach. Hang up and call from a number you independently verify. The banks are very happy to have you do that, Quilici says. (Listen to more of his advice on The Perfect Scam.)

Public programs. Issues such as student loans are ripe for robocall scams as it’s not clear whether loans are forgiven or not. “Criminals love confusion,” says Clayton LiaBraaten, senior strategic adviser at Truecaller, a global caller ID, spam blocking and fraud prevention app.

What can be done to stop robocalls?

Truecaller estimates that Americans lose $25 billion annually to scams originating with spam calls. The FCC, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the telecom industry work to prevent criminals from dialing up citizens, but “it’s really a game of whack-a-mole,” LiaBraaten says.

STIR/SHAKEN authentication and Operation Stop Scam Calls — led by the FTC in partnership with more than 100 federal and state law enforcement agencies — targeted operations responsible for billions of calls and shut them down.

Bercu points out that auto warranty scams, which he calls one of the most pervasive robocall campaigns in this country, have virtually gone away. “That is a signal that the tools and the framework we have can be effective.”

AI is the next big threat

AI creates synthetic voices that may do the initial talking. Using information from data breaches and what you’ve shared on social media, criminals can create a conversational bot tailored to you.

“I know what your alma mater was. I know where you live. I know who you hang out with. I know what you spend money on. It’s not very difficult for a social engineer to write a script,” LiaBraaten says.

Though the FCC outlawed robocalls made with AI, people should be on alert for AI-generated election robocalls this year. (Learn more about AI and scams here.)

Using audio from voicemail messages or clips on social media, AI can mimic your loved ones’ voices, making so-called grandparent scams (callers impersonating grandchildren in distress) more effective. “It doesn’t have to be a perfect voice clone, (it) just has to be good enough,” says Quilici, who created a password his family can use to verify if help really is needed.

How to protect yourself from robocall scams

Be vigilant. “Be patient, be protected, and be suspicious. And that’ll go a long way,” Quilici says.

Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. “If I’m not expecting a call and it’s not a contact, I’m just going to ignore it, let it go to voicemail and then deal with it afterwards,” Quilici says. It’s a good idea to put your doctor and other regular callers in your phone’s contacts, so you’ll recognize them when they call.

If you do answer, avoid engaging. It’s best not to speak or press any keys in response to a prerecorded message. Taking action signals to scammers it’s a live number, and they’ll target you with more spam calls.

If you start to engage, stop and say you’ll call them back. Criminals want to keep you on the phone — that’s when they wear down your resolve, LiaBraaten says — and if they spoofed the number, “they’re not too keen on being called back.”

Verify the number. Look up an institution’s number on its official website, bills or other documentation you have and call that number, rather than any number you’re given during a call.

Take a deep breath. Scammers try to make you panic. Take the time to research their claims on the web and call friends and family before taking action.

Use the National Do Not Call Registry. Registering on the site, operated by the FTC, won’t stop fraudulent calls, but it will make them easier to spot. Legitimate telemarketers won’t call numbers on the list.

Explore call blocking services. Your phone service provider may offer free tools, and you can look into third-party call blocking services, including Truecaller and YouMail. Those companies, as well as Google, are rolling out AI voice detection in real time.

Get a burner number. To avoid giving out your real number, you can create a secondary number that will forward to your phone.

If you’ve been targeted

Keep in mind that each report helps authorities piece together a fuller picture of what scammers are doing, so they can take action against the callers.

File a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

The FTC takes reports online or at 877-382-4357. Forward scam text to the FTC at 7726 (SPAM).

You can also report calls to your carrier.

For support and guidance, the trained fraud specialists at the free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877 -908-3360, can share information on what to do next and how to avoid future scams. The AARP Fraud Watch Network also offers online group support sessions.

More resources

The FCC has tips on combating robocalls.

The FTC explains robocalls and gives advice on avoiding scams and blocking calls.

USTelecom, a trade association for the industry, has information on robocalls.

Editor’s note: This article, originally published in 2019, has been rewritten, and advice from experts has been added.

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Deirdre van Dyk is an AARP associate editor covering Social Security, caregiving, technology and fraud. She previously worked at USA Today and Time, where she covered business, government, sustainability and innovation.