Do you know that each month more than 4.5 billion spam and robocalls are placed on mobile phone numbers in the United States alone? Imagine how many calls everyone receives globally. If you own a cellphone, this means that you have a 50% chance of receiving spam or robocall each day. But you don’t need to worry anymore, RoboKiller can help filter out these calls.
The reason behind these increasing robocall statistics is simple. Each year, spammers spend around $438 million in overhead costs and can bring in total earnings of nearly $9.5 billion, simply by stealing information over the phone. Wow, that is a whopping 2069% profit margin! No wonder why robocalls and spam calls keep climbing up. If you knew you’d make this much money with little investment, would you consider doing it?
Kidding aside, developments in spammer’s technology have also been a major factor in the growing robocall problems. This technology is called Caller ID spoofing, which allows anyone to call from a phone number that is not truly their own. This is the primary reason why scam callers have gone untouched. And if you receive a spam call, most of the time, it is from a unique and untraceable caller ID.
Spammers use spoofing technology, and because of this, it is impossible to identify who is behind the call. If you don’t want to take our word for it, next time you get a spam call, try calling it back. Pretty sure you’ll get a disconnected call or the person whose phone number you are calling gets hijacked.
What Is RoboKiller?
RoboKiller is an Android and iOS application that allows you to block spam calls, robocalls, and telemarketers. RoboKiller has a global blacklist containing over a million known spam numbers. RoboKiller’s mission is to waste the time of telemarketers and scammers. RoboKiller prevents them from harassing more people by using answer bots. Answer bots are prerecorded audio files that are played back to spam and robocalls to trick them into thinking that they are speaking to someone on the other side of the call.
What Are Robocalls?
A robocall is a type of phone call that is considered spam. Spam can be defined as inappropriate or irrelevant messages sent to a large number of recipients, usually, those who have not signed up or expressed interest in receiving any message. To be more specific, a message or a call is considered spam if:
- If the recipient’s identity and context are irrelevant because the message can apply to many other potential recipients;
- Or if the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent.
Robocalls are different from most spam and telemarketing calls as they are auto-dialed from a computer that delivers a prerecorded message. Robocalls are often designed to create an interaction with the recipient, either through voice or keypad input to transfer through an agent or representative.
To be more specific, a robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a prerecorded message as if from a robot. The most popular robocalls people received are associated with political campaigns, emergency announcements, and telemarketing campaigns.
Although some types of robocalls like political ones are legitimate calls and legally approved by the FTC, the unfortunate truth is that most robocalls are either fraudulent, illegal, or both. Those who take advantage of illegal robocalls can pose a danger to all consumers because they have no regard for the law or your well-being and will stop at absolutely nothing to steal from you. In these cases, you must need a robocall blocker.
Legal vs Illegal Robocalls
There are different types of robocalls out there, but what’s important is understanding the difference between an illegal and legal robocall, because there are legitimate companies that have been allowed by law to send robocalls to consumers’ cellular and landline phone number under certain conditions. Here are the factors that differentiate legal and illegal robocalls:
Legal Robocalls
In very few circumstances, robocalls can be helpful and can provide important information you might otherwise miss. Some examples include flight or school cancellations, appointment reminders, and even credit card fraud alerts. However, the FTC has placed strict restrictions and limitations to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls, or else companies may face heavy penalties.
To be considered as a legal robocall, they must do these things:
- Federal law requires all telephone calls using prerecorded messages to identify who is initiating the calls and should include a telephone number or an address where a caller can be reached. In most cases, a consumer must legally consent or opt-in for companies to place prerecorded telephone calls to landline and mobile phones.
- The Federal Law also requires companies who can legally use robocalls to honor the phone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry. The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of numbers submitted by consumers that are opting-out of any contact by legal telemarketing and robocalls. These companies must purchase into this list before sending calls or else they will be penalized.
- The only exception to these rules is when a robocall contains emergency information. This only happens if the robocall contains an update on information necessary to the recipient such as flight cancellation or a fraud alert from the credit cardholder services. Prior consent is not needed to place the call.
Illegal Robocalls
Illegal robocalls are spam calls that are very dangerous because they don’t follow any law put in place by the government through the FTC or FCC. No companies doing illegal robocalls will register with the government or buy into the Do Not Call list to place fraudulent calls. This is mainly because they are aware that what they’re doing is against the law.
Some contents of illegal robocalls may vary, but they are all calling with the same intention, to steal something from you. What makes these calls illegal is their lack of prior consent. If you have not opted-in to receive any robocalls and if it does not contain emergency information, it falls straight as an illegal robocall. Sometimes, these are legitimate companies misinterpreting the law or trying to intentionally bypass it. If they are caught by the Commission, these companies will face hefty penalties plus negative PR for abusing robocall rights.
In some cases, these fraudulent companies are caught sending illegal robocalls but the reality is most of these organizations are getting away from it. There are roughly around 90% of illegal robocalls that are fraudulent by nature and do not come from legitimate organizations mistakenly placing illegal robocalls. Most of the time, these callers are scam artists from all over the world. This factors them more of a threat as they do not comply with FCC rules and regulations and are impossible to track.
If you want to learn more about how to block a phone number, our article can help you out.
What Are the Benefits of Using RoboKiller?
You can download a robocall blocker app like RoboKiller to manage your robocall problem. When you use one, you give yourself power over these fraudulent companies. RoboKiller allows you to trust your smartphone again by giving you back your control over determining which calls are spam or not. You can manually block the numbers through your phone’s blacklist but it may take some time and won’t be able to filter new numbers.
With RoboKiller, here are some of the major benefits you can get:
- Save time, money, and at the same time protect your identity.
- Give the phone scammers the revenge they deserve.
- Power to decide what calls can qualify as spam.
- You don’t need to change your phone number or completely throw your phone away.
When you use RoboKiller to block spam and robocalls on your smartphone, you make an impact in fighting robocalls. RoboKiller allows you to fight fire with fire, robocalls with robocalls. RoboKiller’s answer bits are designed specifically to fight spam callers and telemarketers for you by keeping them on the phone for hours. Each month, RoboKiller was able to waste 10,000 hours of spammers’ time, draining their funds and preventing them from scamming more victims.
How to Use RoboKiller on iPhone?
The best and most effective way to combat robocalls on your iPhone is to download a third-party robocall blocker app like RoboKiller. Both Apple and the FTC recommend robocall blocker apps. This type of app was created to specifically stop unwanted robocalls and spam calls.
RoboKiller is a highly recommended robocall blocker app for iPhone that can help stop these spam messages and robocalls. Aside from offering the most effective spam call protection, real-time caller identification, and blacklist/whitelist functionality, RoboKiller is the third-party robocall blocker app that allows you to fight robocalls by using your robot.
Yes, you read it right. RoboKiller’s answer bots are hilarious recordings that answer the spam calls for you, keep spam callers on the phone for a long period. In this way, spammers will drain their time, financial resources, and confidence.
How to Download RoboKiller on iOS
To start using RoboKiller on your Apple device, simply follow these steps below:
- Go to the App Store.
- Search for “RoboKiller” by typing it on the search bar.
- Select “RoboKiller” from the search result.
- Open the listing and tap “Install.” This will start the installation process. Once installed, you will see the app on your home screen and you can start using it.
How to Start Using RoboKiller on iPhone
These are the three simple steps you should follow to use RoboKiller on your iPhone:
- Once you have downloaded the app from the App Store, open the RoboKiller app.
- Select the green button that says “Continue.”
- Enter your mobile phone number to begin activation.
And there you have it! You can now start blocking robocalls using RoboKiller.
How to Use RoboKiller on Android?
RoboKiller is also available for Android devices. This allows Android users to block unwanted calls. It is also recommended by the FTC and even Google. On the Google Play Store, RoboKiller is a top-rated app. It works in the same way as on the iPhone. It is sure to keep spammers and robocalls away.
How to Download RoboKiller on Android
If you want to start using RoboKiller on your Android phone, just follow these steps below:
- Go to your Google Play store.
- Type “RoboKiller” in the search box.
- Then, press the magnifying glass in the box. It is located at the top part of your screen.
- Select the app from the search result. Tap the “Install” icon from the screen. This will start the installation process.
- Once installed, you will see the RoboKiller on your home screen and you can start using it.
How to Start Using RoboKiller on Android
If you want to start using RoboKiller on your Android phone, follow the steps below:
- After downloading your RoboKiller on your Android phone, open the app.
- Select the green button that says “Continue.”
- Enter your mobile phone number on the screen to begin activating your account.
Now that you know how to use RoboKiller, you are now equipped to fight robocalls anytime, anywhere!
What Are the Advantages of Using RoboKiller?
7-day Free Trial
Unlike other robocall blocker apps, RoboKiller has a 7-day free trial. After the trial period, you can opt-in for a monthly rate of $3.99 a month. RoboKiller also has a whole year subscription that will cost you $29.99. It would be much cheaper to subscribe for a whole year rather than a month. There are plenty of positive reviews on the App Store and Play Store, so you can be sure that your subscription will be worth it.
Easy Set-Up
Most apps claim that they are easy to set up but aren’t usually the case. With RoboKiller, it’s really easy.
To enable the call blocking feature, you will need to go to your phone’s settings. For iOS devices, tap the Settings icon and follow the instructions given by RoboKiller. This will allow the app to intercept calls. Once you’ve allowed your smartphone to work with RoboKiller, you can now start configuring it the way you want it to work. Here are the available options within the app:
- Turn on/off notifications for blocked and missed calls
- Pause call blocking if you are expecting a call from someone you think RoboKiller might divert
- Report robocalls and spam text messages by swiping left
Take note of this important setting in RoboKiller: tap the Allow icon then select the “allow” tab. In this setting, make sure you’ve checked “my contacts.” If not, your friends, family, and coworker may get answer bots when they call you until you can mark them safe.
Funny Answer Bots
Answer bots are the outbound recordings that answer the calls for you. You can create your answer bot or you can use many existing answer bots that come with the app. You can choose a random option, which randomly chooses a recording every call. Answer bot options include “Morgan Freeman Impersonator,” “Spoiled Child,” “Nonsense,” and then the “Default Answer Bot.” Default Answer Bot is a recording that lets the spammers know that their call is answered by an app and it’s been blocked.
If you still get calls from private callers and want to know who’s calling, you can read our article on private numbers. You can also check out another article to know more about how to spoof a phone number.
