Automated calls that offer unwanted or illegal products or that attempt to defraud you are known as robocalls. And they have risen into the billions in recent years. The FCC is trying to fight it as are the telephone carriers, who waste large sums of money trying to block such calls legally from their networks and have to field millions of angry questions from subscribers.
(Some robocalls are legal and desirable: school announcements, doctor appointment reminders, and automated messages from companies that you do business with and gave permission to call you.)
Part of the problem is that FCC rules limit the way in which telcos can prevent calls from passing over their networks. That’s to prevent phone operators from blocking competitive companies. But it also ties their hands a bit regarding fraud.
