What's the Deal: New technology to stop robocalls

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- On Action News at 11 on Monday, we showed you one way to silence robocalls and make some money in the process, but Consumer Reports also has some simple ways to protect yourself, and look at new technology that could permanently hang up those robocalls once and for all.

Judy Rosen, a therapist who needs to keep her phone close, is fed up with robocalls.

And according to a study, scam calls will account for nearly half of all mobile calls by 2019.

"A lot of them are the same area code as my phone so I assume it's a friend or someone I know or something like that, and I pick it up," said Rosen.

It's a common tactic called "spoofing" when robocallers disguise their number to look like one that comes from your local area. There's a new technology with a strange name that could help.

Octavio Blanco from Consumer Reports said, "Shaken and stirred technology is promising, it's something that's being developed by the phone providers as a way to sift out spoofed calls."

Still, it could be years before consumers see the benefits of the new tech.

In the meantime, here's what you can do now.

List your phone number with the national Do Not Call Registry, ask your phone company if they offer an advanced robocall-blocking service, and consider a call-blocking app. Nomorobo, Hiya, PrivacyStar, and Robokiller all offer call-protection options.

Ethan Garr of Robokiller said, " Robokiller is a great way to protect yourself, not only does it block these annoying calls from ringing on your phone but it actually answers these calls with answer bots, they are robots of our own that talk back to the scammers and waste their time. "

Another way to fight back is to report robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission. Just write down the number and enter it on the FTC's Do Not Call list website.

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