New report: Macon 1 of top 5 Georgia cities targeted for robocalls. Here’s how to stop them.

Chelsea Madden

The average person in Macon received 30 robocalls last month. Were you one of them?

Whether it’s a telemarketing call, a politician requesting your vote or a scam, we all get them and they can be annoying to say the least.

In February this year, Macon residents received 17,883,500 robocalls, according to Youmail’s Robocall Index. The index listed Atlanta as the biggest target in the country. That’s more than 638,000 calls per day, 26,600 per hour and 7.4 every second.

The index reported Macon was the fifth highest targeted city in Georgia, behind Atlanta (171.9 million), Augusta (39.1 million), Savannah (21.4 million) and Albany (17.9 million).

According to the Federal Communications Commission, unwanted calls are the top consumer complaint and the FCC’s top consumer protection priority. The FCC currently allocates millions of dollars for anti-scamming efforts and to cut down on robocalls.

In the meantime, there are some ways you can get rid of the calls and protect yourself.

Here are some tips to stop the robocalls and avoid scams:

  • Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.

  • You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.

  • If you answer the phone and the caller — or a recording — asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.

  • Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”

  • Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.

  • If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.

  • Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.

  • If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.

  • Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.

  • If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.

  • To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List. Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list.

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