What is a Robocall & Benefits | Identify Spammy Robocalls
Leave a Comment / Robocall / By hammadabidA robocall is a prerecorded phone call that is automatically dialled to millions of individuals every day. A robocall is one in which you hear an automated message instead of a live person speaking.
In certain cases, robocalls provide helpful information, such as appointment reminders or travel cancellations. The majority of the time, they’re just trying to sell you something.
Robocalls are a major source of irritation, with millions of people reporting them as a nuisance each month. Because telemarketers and scammers can easily make robocalls via the internet for a low price, robocalls have become commonplace.
Is it okay to make automated phone calls?
It’s always a good idea to check your country’s laws to make sure you’re in the clear.
Some robocalls are legitimate in the United States. These are only a few examples.
Announcements of public interest
Robotic calls informing you that your trip has been cancelled or a medical appointment has been scheduled.
Debt collector phone calls
If you owe money to a company, it is legal for them to use recorded messages to contact you. On the other hand, service providers that try to sell you debt reduction services are not (and are probably scams).
A medical professional is on the line.
For instance, a prescription refill reminder from your pharmacy.
Messages from non-profits
Charities have the ability to make these calls. Only people who have already donated or are members of the charity can receive robocalls on behalf of the organisation. You should be able to block future calls with an automatic choice as well.
Sales-related robocalls are banned unless the corporation gets your express written agreement to do so. In order to get your approval, the corporation must be explicit that it is requesting to contact you through robocalls, and it cannot make you agree to the calls as a condition of getting a product or service from the company. After giving permission, it’s possible to revoke it at any time.
Robocalls intended to deceive or swindle consumers are prohibited in all states. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED) was approved with bipartisan support in the United States in January 2020, providing the Federal Trade Commission with greater authority to prevent spam calls. Robocall scam penalties can rise from $1,500 to $10,000 per spam call under the new law.
How Will Robocalls Help Customer Service Representatives?
Enhanced Productivity of the Group
Agents may be redeployed to focus on the company’s main activities with the help of Robocalls, which frees up a considerable amount of time that would otherwise be spent placing phone calls. Robocall software, on the other hand, can contact a big number of clients at once. Repetitive and annoying calls to consumers to offer items or services are commonplace for sales professionals, according to our experience (as most of the time they hear rejection). Smart robocall deployment coupled with AI-based voice recognition and live agent integration is a winning combo. Robocalls keep sifting potential customers based on their voice input, but the real person connects as soon as the prospect shows any interest in purchasing. All of these together assist to maximise current resources and increasing team productivity.
Cost reductions
Agents are not required to call out, which clearly saves money while being built on cloud services saves even more money on the infrastructure. As simple as this may sound, it may save a company hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the long run because of the sheer volume of robocalls that are dialled out simultaneously.
Ease of Setup and Use
You may simply combine the robocall services with current databases or Lead Management Systems (LMS). Restful API integration makes it easy to build up automated calls to prospects and customers according to the workflow’s specifications.
Scalability is a breeze
Robocall software’s scalability is one of its primary advantages. There is no need for new hardware or phone connections with the majority of them being housed in the cloud. SIP channels can be added dynamically by your service provider to meet the demand for concurrent automated calls. This is especially useful for companies aiming for productivity without sacrificing scalability.
More people respond
Outbound marketing’s most well-known statistic is that phone calls outperform SMS in terms of return on investment. People are more likely to respond to a phone call than a text message, which has a greater potential of being perceived as spam. Customer satisfaction is improved, companies receive fast feedback, and a high response rate from leads is guaranteed.
When you answer a robocall, what happens next?
The best thing to do if you receive a spam robocall is not to answer it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t fall for the ruse if you pick up the phone and answer the call. A possible victim on the other side is a reason for them to try again. The fewer robocalls you get, the less time you spend answering them.
When determining whether a robocall is a spam or not, it might be tough.
In recent years, spoofing calls have become more common. Caller ID spoofing is the act of phoning someone while using a different name or phone number as the caller ID. To trick you into picking up the phone, scammers will often use a fictitious firm or person’s name as a caller ID. As a result, be cautious while pressing the “answer” button.
Here are some things you can do to reduce your chances of getting scammed:
When you discover it’s a robocall, put the phone down immediately.
It’s best if you don’t become too involved. Calls may be categorised as “live” if you react or speak during them, which means you’ll get more of them.
Try to avoid using the word “yes” as often as possible.
Scammers often ask, “Can you hear me?” and consumers often answer “yes” without thinking. Afterwards, they can use the recording of your affirmation to commit fraud. Don’t say “yes” if at all feasible.
3. Do not follow the instructions provided by the Bot.
Robotic calls may ask you to perform an action, such as “press 1 to talk with a human agent,” “press 2 to unsubscribe,” or “press 3 to cancel,” among other options. The robocallers know that if they hear from you again, they can assume you’re a victim. Refrain from taking any kind of action at this time.
Please report the call.
You may report robocalls to the FTC at donotcall.gov in the United States. You can help the FTC hunt down scammers by reporting the phone number that displays on your caller ID. Every working day, the FTC makes public the phone numbers you’ve reported. Carriers and other partners working on call-blocking solutions will benefit from this. Law enforcement can use these reports to track down those responsible for illicit phone calls.
A word of caution
Robocall scams may do a lot of harm. No matter how careful you are, scammers will still waste your time. Every time you notice an unknown caller ID, proceed with care. If a company calls, simply hang up, look up the company’s phone number on their website, and give them a call to double-check.
Types of spam phone calls
Robotic calls and spam calls are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can really indicate various things:
A robocall is an automated telephone call. An automated or prerecorded voice message is sent via a robocall, which can be legal and take place with the customer’s permission.
What exactly is a spam call? A “spam call” is an unwanted phone call that is made with the express purpose of tricking or scamming the person who receives it.
Spam calls or robocall scams may be divided into two categories:
Using a spoofed phone number
Scam phone calls that imitate local or well-known business numbersScammers take advantage of this since they know you’re more likely to answer a call from a familiar or familiar-sounding number.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) swindles
Scammers and criminals purporting to represent the IRS make these calls. Pay a bogus tax bill, or risk losing your Social Security number if you don’t, they may claim. To make the call look authentic, the callers use fake IRS titles and badge numbers. They pose as representatives of HMRC in the United Kingdom.
Charity fraud is a third problem.
Calls from phoney charities asking for money to aid those affected by natural catastrophes or disease outbreaks are common.
Scams in travel
If you get a call like this, you may hear an announcement concerning a free or low-cost vacation notice. To accept the free vacation, recipients are prompted to provide their credit card information.
Inquiries about medical coverage
These calls may inform you that you are not getting the greatest value on your health insurance or offer you savings on health insurance plans. Their true goal is to get your personal information by tricking you.
Scams in the lending industry:
For a small upfront charge, the scam caller offers loans or credit cards to customers with poor credit ratings. The loan never materialises once the charge is paid.
Scams in the field of customer service:
The fraudsters pretend to be from a well-known company, such as Apple, with which you have a commercial tie. Personal information is requested that would never be requested over the phone by a real firm.
Free-trial rip-offs.
A free product or service is offered by the con artists in exchange for your credit card information, which is subsequently charged on a monthly basis.
SEO (Google slang for “search engine optimization”)
Small companies are the intended victims of these scam calls, which claim that their Google listing is going to disappear. They threaten to close their businesses unless they pay for some unnecessary SEO services.
A hoax to verify a local map on the internet
Spam calls convince small business owners that an internet map listing has to be verified. According to the caller, they require more sensitive information from your business in order to continue listing it. They next go after the financial accounts of the organisation using that information.
Number eleven is Chinese robocalls.
Because many Chinese people live in the region, you may receive Mandarin-language robocalls. The calls are perplexing to individuals who do not understand Mandarin. Doing so and following the robocaller’s instructions increases the danger of being conned.
The subject matter varies, but frequently the robocall pretends to be from the Chinese Embassy and informs the receiver that they must acquire a document in order to protect their immigration status. The true goal is to con people out of money.