While some robocalls are legal, such as notifying consumers of a fraudulent act, a more significant percentage of robocalls are illegal and dangerous. And with all legal implications, telemarketers and scammers continue to make nuisance calls and send text messages informing consumers of a great product or a service on the market or claiming they will be arrested due to unpaid debts.

California has recently had the hardest hit by increased robocalls. It becomes worse when such calls have been a target to small businesses causing losses. Any small business dealing with robocalls will have much more to bear than an individual.

Dealing With Robocalls In Small Businesses

It becomes more challenging when a small business- a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation- deals with robocalls. One may avoid picking up calls only to find it was from a prospective customer. Some sell their business through calls, so they have to pick them. But what happens when a good percentage of these calls are from robocalls? How do they put an end to such calls? The story continues; the small businesses must keep calling or sending messages to customers who keep ignoring them, thinking they are robocalls, which leads to a waste of time and money. If you have a small business and get a ton of robocalls or unwanted text messages, you should protect your business by filing a lawsuit for unwanted robocalls. One fact is that losses may stealthily get into your business and with no time, you will be recording losses. Telemarketers or spammers mainly target small companies to steal their identity or gain personal information. 
Robocalls to consumer landlines are illegal unless:
  • The call is for emergency purposes such as flight cancellation or delay.
  • It’s an informational call, such as school closing. The rings are for non-commercial purposes, such as political parties.
Despite the FTC and FCC rules, robocalls continue to annoy consumers. According to the TCPA, any telemarketer or a debt collector violates the law when they make automated robocalls unless they have the consumer's permission. If the consumer has given consent, they can revoke it at any time, and the telemarketers should stop calling or sending pre-recorded messages.

How To Bring An End To Robocalls In Your Small Business

If you are a small business owner and receiving robocalls, it's more probable you are fed up with robocalls and scammers. Worse enough is when robocallers use call spoofing to display a local prefix on the target phone number, making it look like the call is being made locally. You need to look for ways to stop these calls, get back to productivity, and make profits. You can consider the following factors:
  • Hang up as soon as you detect the call is spam: Sometimes, robocalls are very sophisticated; they may even answer questions and make one think it's a natural person. In such a case, you should look out for unique ways to help you detect whether there is any human-caller interaction.
  • Communicate with your telecom company to obtain spam blockers: Your telephone service provider is more likely to offer blocking services. However, you must be keen on this so as not to have reduced sales calls.

If you have employees, train them on how to deal with robocalls.

Since businesses are exempt from registering their number on the do not call list, you can register on the do not call registry if you use your phone for business.
  • File a lawsuit: Once you are sure to have a list of robocallers, you can file a claim. The law protecting consumers from robocalls or spoofing can ensure the robocalls come to a stop. The truth is that you may not eliminate robocalls or spammers, but taking legal action may ensure you retain or build up your business productivity. Anyone who violates the law can have civil fines imposed, among other hefty penalties.

Documenting Evidence

Robocallers violate the law because they incur very little to call millions of people daily. They know that a good percentage will answer their calls and take this as a green opportunity for the proliferation of robocalls. If you are receiving robocalls, you need to take legal action to stop telemarketers from their illegal activities. However, you need to show evidence of the robocalls by having a detailed record of the phone records you have received from the telemarketers or debt collectors. You can also record the date and time of each call.

Spammers are always determined to attempt to defraud customers. One way in which they find this easier is through robocalls. However, the FCC is working day and night to develop technological solutions that have immensely contributed to the decrease in robocalls.