When you answer the phone and hear a scam telemarketer or robocall on the other end, it’s natural to want to get revenge on them right away. Well, there are ways that you can give spam callers a taste of their own medicine.
This is a good thing, especially since scammers have been the source of financial hardship for many. In fact, Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams in just 2020 alone. And this doesn’t take into account the number of people who are affected by identity theft or other stressors due to spam phone calls.
If you’re looking to get some payback on the telemarketers and scam callers, spam phone call revenge will let you do so.
What Is a Spam Phone Call?
A spam phone call is an unsolicited call made to your phone number, typically involving some form of phishing or fraudulent scam. In many cases, the call doesn’t even come from a real phone number: it comes from a computer, so it can not be tracked.
You can place yourself on the Do Not Call list, which is a federal government-regulated service that makes it unlawful for telemarketers to contact numbers on the list. While the Do Not Call Registry can’t actually block calls from going to your number, it can give you grounds to get some legal revenge if they do call.
Do Spam Phone Calls Really Work?
There’s a reason why so much money was lost to spam phone calls in 2020, and it’s that scammers use persuasion techniques that are effective at taking the general population for granted. Vulnerable groups, like the elderly, are especially susceptible to spam robocalls.
The reason that many scams seem to be effective is that they often include familiar brand names to increase credibility. Additionally, they’ll make time-sensitive claims to give the call a sense of urgency and danger that many individuals may fall for.
Warning signs that a call is coming from an unsolicited source include:
Calls coming from someone claiming to work at a government agency or major tech firm, like Apple or Microsoft
Call-pitching services that sound too good to be true, like cash prizes or debt reduction
Unsolicited calls from charity organizations
How To Stop Spam Phone Calls
There are a few ways you can stop spam calls. For one, you can block them directly on your iPhone.
On iPhone:
Go to Settings,
Then click Phone.
Tap “Call Blocking and Identification” to allow an app to filter and detect spam calls.
For Android, you can do the same by:
Opening the phone app,
Tapping “Recents” at the bottom of the screen.
Tap the call you want to report as spam, then tap Block.
You can also protect your personal information and privacy with a second Burner number. A Burner number works by rerouting calls from a temporary number to your primary number so that scammers never actually see what your personal phone address is.
Keeping spammers from seeing your personal phone information helps to prevent spam callers from securing highly personal information about you.
Plus, when you make calls, the caller ID on the other end will show up as your Burner ID. You can keep your Burner numbers for as long as you’d like, and burn them whenever you’d like.
What Is Spam Phone Call Revenge?
Spam phone calls revenge is exactly what it sounds like: it’s when you use an app or another tool to get some revenge on the scammers who wreak havoc on your life. Basically, instead of them scamming you, you’ll be scamming them back.
A service called Robo Revenge, which is included in an iPhone app called DoNotPay, helps you to file a lawsuit against robocallers and trick them into revealing the source of unwanted calls. The app was created to create automatic appeals to get out of parking tickets. However, it now contains a ton of helpful features.
The revenge feature works by giving you a temporary credit card number that you can provide to a robocaller when they try to sell you something. The scammer must supply a name, address, and phone number to the credit card company for processing. When they attempt the transaction, the card is rejected. The transaction information is ultimately given to you so that you know who to sue.
But is filing a lawsuit even legal? Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, you have the right to sue telemarketers who phone without your permission. If your number is listed on the Do Not Call list and you’re still contacted, you may have grounds to secure up to $1,500.
Conclusion
Spam phone calls are more than just an annoying nuisance, they can end up costing you a lot of money or personal information. You can avoid spam calls by knowing the warning signs and reporting suspicious numbers to your phone carrier. Additionally, you should block phone numbers on your phone directly.
When you’re tired of getting spam, you can also take some revenge. Spam call revenge lets you file a lawsuit against scammers who have given you unsolicited calls despite being on the Do Not Call list. Apps like Robo Revenge can help you throughout the process.
In the meantime, protect your privacy and gain peace of mind by getting a Burner number.
Click here to get your second number and take your first steps towards fighting back against unwanted calls and texts.
Sources:
Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams over the past year | CNB
FCC Actions on Robocalls, Telemarketing | Federal Communications Commission
This app promises to wreak revenge on robocallers. But be careful it doesn't backfire | Boston Globe
National Do Not Call Registry | Federal Trade Commission
