Henrico woman fed up with constant sales calls: How to block unwanted calls
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Are you continuing to receive unwanted sales calls? Despite registering for the National Do Not Call Registry, a Henrico County woman reached out to 8News because she was still receiving dozens of calls a day. The Federal Trade Commission said there are ways to slow down these calls.
Debra Pedersen told 8News that she lives her life on edge every single day because her phone won't stop ringing.
"I don't have any idea how somebody got my number, but whoever got it, they have put it out there," she said.
Pedersen says the caller identification will often show up as the name of her bank or county administration. However, when she picks up the phone, she's being given a sales pitch on everything from Medicare packages to burial expenses.
She's not the only one dealing with the problem. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency received 71,159 complaints through its Do Not Call Registry during fiscal year 2024.
Here are the top 5 types of consumer call complaints:
- Reducing debt
- Medical & prescriptions
- Imposters
- Warranty & protection plans
- Vacation & timeshares
While some people may expect to receive an unwanted call every once in a while, Pedersen said she's received up to 50 calls in a day, at all times of the day -- so much so that her pet parrots have started to mimic the calls.
“The parrots have learned to make the noise of the phone ringing and to say 'hello' and, until I say 'hello,' they just keep ringing and ringing and ringing and it doesn't stop," Pederson said. "So, I have my phone going and the birds are going at the same time."
The constant calls are the reason why she says she signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry in 2024. However, Pedersen said she still receives calls.
"I would be able to take a breath, I think, if it would just stop," said Pedersen.
According to the FTC, the registry is designed to stop unwanted sales calls from legally abiding companies, not scammers. If you receive an unwanted call and didn't lose any money, you can report the phone number to the registry. If you did lose money to a phone scam, you can report the incident to the agency's fraud department.
Here are the types of calls allowed under FTC rules:
- Political calls
- Charitable calls
- Debt collection calls
- Purely informational calls
- Surveys
The FTC said it has brought 151 enforcement actions against companies and telemarketers for violating do-not-call, robocall and spoofed caller ID policies. Those who break these rules can face fines up to $50,120.
In addition to signing up for the do-not-call registry, you can prevent unwanted calls by utilizing your phone's built-in safety features, installing call blocking services or simply hanging up.
