How many of us have missed an important phone call because we didn’t recognize the number? Nowadays if you don’t recognize the number, you don’t answer the phone. Why? Because of all those annoying robocalls.

Some robocalls mask themselves by using a local number when the call really is made from far, far away. You can’t even trust the caller ID on your phone anymore.

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, reports of unwanted phone calls are rising. Nearly half of all cellphone calls next year will be spam, according to projections by First Orion, a caller ID firm.

An article in USA Today quoted statistics from YouMail, a company that provides a service to block robocalls. The article said U.S. consumers and businesses received about 30.5 billion robocalls in 2017. That broke the record of 29.3 billion calls set the previous year. YouMail estimates the 2018 total will jump to roughly 48 billion.

U.S. phones received some 6.1 million robocalls per hour in September 2018 alone, YouMail said.

Help may be on the way.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said last week he had joined a bipartisan group of 40 attorneys general to stop or reduce annoying and harmful robocalls.

The coalition is reviewing the technology major telecom companies are pursuing to combat illegal robocalls, which can make it appear that the incoming call is coming from a legitimate source, such as a well-known financial institution, business and/or government entity.

“Our office receives numerous calls from West Virginia consumers annoyed by the prevalence and frequency of robocalls,” Morrisey said in a news release. “By joining forces, I believe our coalition can work with the telecom companies and produce real results to quell these intrusions and stop scammers from taking advantage of West Virginians.”

Attorneys general from Ohio and Kentucky are also part of the coalition.

Morrisey said the multi-state group he has joined has had in-depth meetings with several major telecom companies. The attorneys general share information about the technological capabilities already in existence or in development to fight these calls.

The coalition is working to develop a detailed understanding of what is technologically feasible to minimize unwanted robocalls and illegal telemarketing, engaging the major telecom companies to encourage them to expedite the best possible solutions for consumers, and considering further recommendations the states should make to the Federal Communications Commission, Morrisey said.

The coalition’s efforts will enhance West Virginia’s ability to enforce anti-spoofing legislation passed earlier this year, which prohibits any seller or telemarketer from misrepresenting its caller identification data in order to deceive the call’s recipient, Morrisey said.

Meanwhile, the FCC is considering action to create a national database of phone numbers that have been terminated and reassigned. The database would help prevent accidental robocalls to numbers that are no longer assigned to consumers who signed up to receive those calls.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who offered the FCC proposal on robocalls, has offered another proposal that he says will help prevent spam text messages. 

But spam messaging via texting is not nearly as troublesome as robocalls. Pai’s announcement says as much. It says the spam rate for texts is estimated at 2.8 percent, while the spam rate for email is estimated at more than 50 percent.

The sheer volume of robocalls renders cellphone service almost useless at times. It’s good to see efforts are underway to limit the damage robocallers are doing to our ability to enjoy our phone service.

Online: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/