Robocall scams in the United States are more severe than ever in history. Robocalls are an intrusive and obnoxious menace, responsible for $29.8 billion in fraud last year alone. It is the highest-profile case in years-CNN described it as a "biblical plague of locusts descending on our cellphones."

A robocall scam usually begins with a recorded voice that says, "I'm from the IRS, and you owe us money for taxes, which you can pay in iTunes gift cards. But the good news is, you've won tickets for a cruise. " Or like this, "We've been trying to reach you concerning your car's extended warranty," and ends with the victim being tricked into buying worthless coverage. 

I believe many of us have received common coronavirus scams, car warranty robocalls, or lottery and sweepstakes scams. 

Using a spam-blocking app may be one of the effective measures to deal with this mess. US-based startup RealCall is a new innovator in caller ID, spam-blocking software, and call and SMS harassment research. The iOS version is available on the App Store currently. The company claims that they have collected 1.5 billion phone numbers in its global database, and they protect people from scammers, spammers, swindlers, and telemarketers. RealCall provides a built-in free reverse phone lookup service, which lets you look up unknown phone numbers and match them with the owners' names, addresses, carriers, locations, risk levels, etc.

RealCall is not the first app to help users handle incoming spam calls-Truecaller and other spam-blocking apps do this as well. However, unlike other products that rely on one or two interception rules on the market, the detection and blocking rules of RealCall include blocklisting and allow listing, crowdsourcing, user-defined rules, database-based blocking, real-time analysis, verification code identification, and call authentication. RealCall will be one of the first to launch this multi-dimensional complex capability. According to A Survey of Techniques Against Telephone Spam, which refers to spam blocking, no single method is sufficiently reliable due to the problem's complexity. A combination of methods can be used together to provide more effective results, provided care is taken to ensure that the variety of techniques does not degrade the user experience.

"We are calling about your vehicle's manufacturer's warranty." Brian Smith, a 64-year-old Arizona resident, has been receiving robocalls frequently recently. He said he still has to answer some robocalls because of the caller ID spoofing, which annoys him. Now he will consider installing a spam-blocking app on his mobile phone, which is necessary for people his age. Telemarketing and robocalls have become more and more severe in Arizona. According to relevant reports, Arizona is a hot spot for robocall scams.

The FCC is increasingly telling other telecom providers that they are responsible for stemming the tide of illegal robocalls. What comes with it is that enterprises in the telecom security field need to bear more social responsibilities. However, if the source is not fundamentally cut off, all this is still empty talk, and illegal robocalls will continue to overflow. For ordinary people, how to protect their digital life has become a compulsory course.