RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — We’re all used to seeing them, random calls every day with a recorded message on the other end trying to sell you something or saying your car’s warranty is up.
“It’s just really gotten out of hand. It’s ridiculous,” said Leslie Blackwell, with Central Virginia’s Better Business Bureau.
A new requirement by the Federal Communications Commission could help you get less of those pesky robocalls.
Now, cell phone providers are being required to do their part to stop those calls.
The FCC launched the Robocall Mitigation Database in April, and as of Tues., Sept. 28, if cellphone providers don’t tell the commission their plan to stop robocalls, they’ll face penalties.
She said the 804 area code in Virginia gets some of the most robocalls in the country, so the BBB is excited about the new database and requirement.
However, Blackwell isn’t so sure the new requirement will drastically reduce robocalls.
“I’m not going to hold my breath,” she told 8News in an interview Monday.
Any voice service providers will now need to certify that they’re not allowing illegal robocall traffic.
Blackwell said the main thing the new requirement could help in is eliminating robocalls from overseas.
Even if the new database doesn’t help nix robocalls, you can help on your own. “Don’t even answer it. Because what often happens is if you answer it, now they know that there’s a person there,” Blackwell said.
Blackwell said if you do receive a robocall, call the BBB and the FCC to report the scam.
