5 On Your Side

Tired of robocalls? Try this trick to silence the calls

It's not your imagination: Robocalls are back to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

Posted Updated

By
Monica Laliberte
, WRAL executive producer/5 On Your Side reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — It's not your imagination: Robocalls are back to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

In February, 4.6 million robocalls were made.

"These robocalls have gotten absolutely ridiculous," said Vicki Hewitt-McNeill, of Wake County. "I get more robocalls than I do my regular calls. I block them and they just call from other phone numbers."

The Do Not Call registry can't keep up with the ever-changing numbers. While the calls won’t stop, 5 On Your Side’s Monica Laliberte came across a trick to block them -- automatically send them to voicemail.

Callers who need to talk to you will leave a message. Anyone else won’t waste your time. Monica says most of the calls she sends direct to voicemail never leave a message.

To send the calls to voicemail on an iPhone, go to settings, then phone and turn on silence unknown callers. To block unknown and private numbers on an Android, tap the three dot menu and then block unknown and private number.

Different carriers have spam blockers too, but some will cost money.

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