CLEVELAND — You've probably noticed you're getting more robocalls lately; that's because efforts to stop them aren't working fast enough.
A new report from U.S. Public Interest Research Group shows spam robocalls have hit a six-year high in the U.S., increasing by 20% so far in 2025. Locally, people living in Cleveland and Akron receive about 70 scam and illegal telemarketing calls each year.
The report also found that the number of phone companies using federally mandated robocall-blocking technology has dropped from 47% to 44% this year.
Teresa Murray, the Director of the Consumer Watchdog program at U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said there are several reasons this is happening.
"There is not enough enforcement by regulators and lawmakers, there are not enough consequences for bad actors," Murray said.
Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a new rule giving consumers more caller ID data to fight robocalls, especially from overseas.
The rule also requires providers to verify that the caller's name and other information transmitted to consumers is accurate.
In the meantime, Murray suggests contacting your phone company and asking what they're doing to protect customers from robocalls.
You can also sign up online for the "Do Not Call" list, but that website isn't working right now due to the government shutdown.
