WACO, Texas (KXXV) — It seems like no cell phone is safe from those pesky unwanted calls like robocalls, robo-texts and marketing messages but lets take a look at how we could potentially avoid most of them.
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Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau serving the Heart of Texas said some of these calls can be from legitimate companies and we may be getting them because we didn’t read the fine print when signing up for services or buying products but some of those calls are spam and scam calls.
“Again they’re trying to sell you a product, trying to get you to make a move to offer some kind of information or even payment but we see this way to often. It’s getting more prevalent with AI and with tools that allow these companies to mass market with the push of a button," Meza said.
But to halt these calls, Meza said we as consumers have to play better defense.
First, go ahead and register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry and Texas’ not call list. Also, if your phone number is not a Texas number, go ahead and sign up with that state’s do not call list.
Second, when you get one of these calls, remember, don’t always trust caller ID because agencies can be spoofed.
If it seems fishy or something you’re not interested in, hang up the phone and report it to the BBB.
Meza said if they’re truly legitimate and need to reach you, they’ll leave a voicemail.
And lastly, don’t forgot you always have the option to block the number.
He said taking these steps can help cut down on potentially 90% of those unwanted calls.
“There are things you can kinda do to mitigate but scammers don’t play by the rules" Meza said.
When it comes to spam calls and how to avoid them, 25 News' Bobby Poitevint did a story with one of our local sheriffs. You can find that story by clicking here.
