What you can do to stop receiving so many robocalls

They're endless and annoying -- Pennsylvanians receive millions of robocalls each year.

While the government is working to stop them from happening, Channel 11 News found out there are things you can do now to decrease the amount of calls you get.

"There are 2.4 billion robocalls being made every single month," Caitlin Driscoll, public relations director of the Better Business Bureau of Southwestern PA, said.

The Keystone State is seeing more and more robocalls. According to government numbers collected by SocialCatfish.com, we rank sixth in the country for the most robocall complaints.

"Scammers are targeting our state more than others due to us having a significantly higher senior population," Driscoll said.

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How you react to these calls could actually lead to more of them. Answering the phone to tell someone to go away or hitting "2" to get taken off their list won't help you. It's actually hurting you.

Driscoll said people should avoid pressing any buttons.

"This is a common tactic that scammers will use just to ensure they reach a live operating phone number. So, you are not opting out of anything, you will just continue to receive more calls and be placed on more robocalls contact lists."

That's because the robocallers can sell your number to other robocallers. Driscoll said the best way to protect yourself is don't answer the call and take advantage of anti-robocall programs.

"Contact their phone provider about the different call blocking technologies that are available to them," Driscoll said.

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The big four cellphone providers -- AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile -- offer free or a monthly subscription for their call-blocking services.

The BBB also recommends people keep enrolling in the "Do Not Call" registry. The last step you can take is to report any complaints to the FCC.

To report robocalls to the FCC, CLICK HERE. Under "File a Complaint", there's a link to submit a form. Enter your email address and a description of the robocall and any funds you lost, or other suspected scams. Attach files and documents that support your complaint, then click on the submit button.

Cox Media Group