Think you're getting more spam calls? You're probably right

If you feel like you’ve been receiving more pesky, automated spam phone calls lately, you’re probably right.

According to a new report from the app RoboKiller, Americans received a record-shattering number of more than 5 billion robocalls in July – or nearly 19 spam calls for every single person – compared to 2.62 billion a year ago.

The number of telemarketing phone calls began to spike in May, according to RoboKiller, which reported 3.7 million calls. The already bloated problem has continued to explode throughout the summer, largely because many of the calls have been effective: In 2016, about 22 million people lost $9.5 billion because of spam callers.

“Scammers are desperate to find more victims, and 5 billion inexpensive, auto-dialed, robocalls are the weapon of choice,” Ethan Garr, RoboKiller’s vice president of product, said in a news release.

What’s worse, the auto-dial technology is hard to fight because, with one internet connection, the spammers target thousands of numbers at one time and call, playing an automated message. And once you make one call list, you’re likely to make other lists, which will then sell on the black market.

So what can you do to combat the calls?

If you still have a landline, try calling your carrier, which might have some type of blocking system for you. IPhone users can also go into settings and block the calls. Otherwise, you can put your number on a do-not-call registry, but that isn’t always an effective means of dodging the calls.

RoboKiller also purports to stop spam calls on landlines and mobile phones by screening incoming calls and using audio-fingerprint technology to determine whether the call is from a human or a robot, according to the company, which says it blocks more than 200,000 telemarketers and robocalls from ringing.

If the app determines it’s a robot, it will answer the call and play back an automated message so it can learn from the call and update its block list. RoboKiller starts at $2.49 per month.

“We are fighting back with Answer Bots, robots that talk back to spammers, because finding the humans behind these calls and wasting their time is the only way consumers can win this fight,” Garr said.