Sick of robocalls? Follow these steps to stop getting them

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Wisconsinites received about 45 million robocalls in January and experts say it’s only going to get worse, but there’s a playbook to help you stop the calls.

YouMail, an app that helps stop robocalls found that there were 60,000 robocalls placed every hour in Wisconsin this past month. About 45% of those were scams and about 20% were from telemarketers.

“We are seeing an explosion of robocalls and we think it's going to get even worse in 2019,” Spokesman of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois Jim Chilsen said.

The organization created a free Guidebook to Fighting Robocalls where they share tips people can follow to avoid getting the calls.

“I think people are just so tired of these robocalls and are in need of good free information on how to reduce the number of robocalls so they can keep their sanity,” Chilsen said.

Steps they advise you to follow:

• Don’t answer the phone if it’s a number you don’t know
• If you answer a scam call, don’t say anything, just hang up
• Switch to ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode on your phone: You can allow calls from only your contacts and any other call will go to voicemail
• Block the scam numbers after they call
• Contact your phone provider, many offer anti-robocall services, and some are free  
• Download one of these anti-robocall apps:
  • Hiya Caller ID and Block
  • Nomorobo
  • RoboKiller
  • Truecaller
  • YouMail

For the full guide from the Citizens Utility Board, click here.