Robocalls still a current problem, despite legislative progress, says AARP Kansas

Even though the federal government knows it needs to deal with robocalls, they’re still going on now.

“The Federal Trade Commission says they get 500,000 complaints a month about robocalls,” said Mary Tritsch with AARP-Kansas. “It’s still a problem and it looks like it’s going to continue. There is some help. There’s a bill that’s working its way through Congress.”

The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act passed the U.S. Senate in May.

“The purpose of the Act is to require providers to adopt a smart call authentication technology,” said Tritsch. “It also expands the powers of the Federal Trade Commission to level civil penalties against robocallers.”

The best way to answer robocalls is not to answer them at all.

“It’s so tempting to pick up the phone,” said Tritsch. “If someone legitimately is calling you and they need to talk to you or need to provide you information, they are going to leave you a message. As hard as it is, ignore those phone calls that you don’t know.”

Also, check with your phone provider for any further restrictions they can apply to your phone. Some of them can be done free of charge, while others have a cost.