ByHow to Put an End to Cox Robocalls
Technology has enabled companies, organizations, politicians, and many others to reach a high number of people frequently and in a short time via robocalls. While this is an excellent solution for them, it is not good news for people receiving these annoying calls.
Not only are robocalls irritating, but they can also cause quite a lot of trouble if scammers are on the other end of the line. The number of automated calls is increasing—according to BusinessWire, there have been 54.6 billion robocalls in 2019. Scammers impersonating reputable companies are rather common, among others. So, if you have received unsolicited calls allegedly coming from a legit company, you are not alone.
Whatever robocalls you’re struggling to stop on your Cox phone, DoNotPay is here to address your concerns and help you out. But first, let’s break down the process behind robocalling, so you understand what you’re dealing with.
How Does a Robocall Work?
All robocalls are made with the same purpose—to deliver a message to as many people as possible in the shortest time possible. This brings us to the first step robocallers need to take—record their message, which is done with the help of a computer program.
There’s no use of the message if not enough people hear it. That’s why the second step is to obtain as many phone numbers as possible. Robocallers most commonly gather enough numbers by buying them from a legitimate broker. If this is not enough or they can’t even get to a legitimate broker, they can always find a shady operator that will gladly sell them a high number of contacts. So, one way or another, obtaining plenty of phone numbers is not a problem.
When they prepare everything, robocallers rely on special software that can dial about a million numbers in one hour. It enables them to reach a much greater number of people than they ever could have by having a real person dial one number at a time.
After robocallers launch this software, your phone rings. When you pick up, you will first hear the automated message. Depending on the nature of the call, there might be some instructions about what you need to do next. In many cases, you will be told to press a command to be patched to a real person. If you’re dealing with a scam, this is the trickiest part—the real person that they patch you to is the one to get you scammed, so you need to be extra careful.
What Is Cox?
Cox is a cable television and telecommunications company that provides services to residential customers in the U.S. This is the third-largest cable provider nationwide. Cox Voice provides home phone services, and it’s quite popular among people all around the country.
The problem begins when robocalls start disturbing you and spoiling your Cox experience. This company is well aware of this issue and offers its customers help with blocking unwanted calls.
How Do I Stop Robocalls on My Cox Phone?
If you have a problem with unsolicited calls on your Cox phone, don’t worry—you are not the first one, so Cox has already developed some techniques to help its customers deal with this issue. Cox Digital Phone service allows you to block up to 31 numbers on your phone. When you do that, the people whose numbers you blocked won’t be able to reach you—they will just hear an automated message telling them that you are not accepting calls at the moment.
These are the steps to take to block a number on your Cox phone:
- Dial *60
- Press 3 to turn the Selective Call Rejection option on
- Press # to add a new number to the list of blocked numbers
- Make sure you enter the 10-digit phone number, which means including the area code
- Hang up the phone to save the changes
How to Stop Unwanted Cox Calls?
Another way to stop robocalls on your Cox phone is to use Nomorobo, software that allows you to block telemarketers, robocall scams, and annoying robocalls. Nomorobo can block unwanted calls before they even make it to your phone. If you go for this option, here’s what you need to do:
- Log in to your Cox account
- Go to phonetools.cox.com
- Enter your User ID and Password
- Go to Settings
- Turn on Nomorobo/Simultaneous Ring
- Click ACTIVATE next to the Activate Nomorobo option
- Give consent for Cox to provide Nomorbo with your name, email address, and Cox phone number
- Click Save
List Your Number on the National Do Not Call Registry to Stop Cox Robocalls
When robocallers contact you so frequently that it starts to feel like harassment, you need to take action to fight back against them. Don’t forget that, in many cases, these are scammers looking for a way to wrong you, so you shouldn’t wait for them to manage to do that before you do something to stop them. If it’s already late and you lost the battle, DoNotPay is here to help you file a robocall lawsuit.
In case it hasn’t come to this yet, you should do what’s in your power to stop robocallers in time. Just like the FCC’s guide on dealing with robocalls suggests, the first thing you should consider doing is putting your phone number on the National Do Not Call List. Make sure you also learn how to check if a number is on the Do Not Call list to be sure that you completed your registration successfully. Here’s how you can do this:
- Verify your registration online
- Dial 1-888-382-1222
- Dial 1-866-290-4236 to call via TeleTypewriter
One of the crucial things you should know about the Do Not Call list is that there is no expiration date, so your number will remain on the list as long as you want. You should check out the Do Not Call exemptions, though.
When you’re done checking, and you find no mistake on your end, but you’re still being disturbed, it’s time to report robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission.
Know the Difference Between and Illegal Robocalls
To be able to avoid robocall scams and getting tricked into revealing your sensitive info or giving your money, you need to learn how to spot an illegal robocall. While, in some cases, the difference between a and illegal automated call is rather obvious, sometimes it’s a bit more difficult to discern. Here’s what you need to keep in mind to know how to differentiate between these two categories:
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Robocalls |
Illegal Robocalls |
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Robocalls made to ask you to participate in a government-approved study are always . |
Scammers can manipulate numbers to make them look like they are calling you from a reputable institution, such as the government, in which case we are talking about illegal robocalls. |
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People who are unable to pay bills on time and have an unsettled debt can expect debt collectors to contact them via robocalls about anything regarding their debt. |
Scammers often impersonate debt collectors to make people give them the money. In this case, fraudsters often offer to lower your bills, but only if you transfer a certain amount of money into a given bank account as soon as possible. |
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Companies that have your written consent are allowed to contact you via robocalls about anything they want. |
If you receive a robocall from an unknown company trying to sell you a product or a service, you should know that this is illegal. |
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Charitable organizations are allowed to use robocalls to reach as many people as they can and ask for donations. |
If a robocall wants you to reveal your credit card information, you should know that this is an illegal call, so don’t expose any sensitive info just like that. |
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If you receive a robocall from your pharmacy, made as a reminder for you to refill your prescription, that’s . |
When robocallers want you to reveal your personal data, you should be suspicious about this. Do not expose any sensitive information that they could use for identity theft. |
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If you receive a robocall as part of a political campaign, this is . In some cases, these robocalls can’t even be blocked. |
Robocalls that inform you that you’re the lucky winner of an extravagant prize are never , so make sure you don’t fall into the trap. |
Rely on DoNotPay to Get Revenge on Cox Robocalls
Getting scammed by robocallers becomes less stressful and frustrating when you know that you can get robocall revenge and make the fraudsters pay for what they did to you.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Log in to your account on DoNotPay via the
- Select Robo Revenge
- List your number on the Do Not Call list
- Request a virtual credit card
- Provide the robocaller with the given virtual credit card number instead of your real one
- When they try to charge your fake credit card, we will gather enough information on your scammers through the payment network, so you can file a complaint against them
How Does Robo Revenge Help You?
We know that you’ve already been through enough trouble dealing with robocalls, so we want to help you get revenge as fast and smoothly as possible. To achieve that, we’ve created our Robo Revenge as a rather efficient solution that operates on a simple principle. Here are a few crucial points to understand to get the gist of how Robo Revenge works:
- The free virtual credit card that we give you will not be connected to your real credit card in any way, which is no coincidence—we never link these two cards because we want to protect your actual card info and not let anyone access your funds
- Our virtual credit card number is a random set of numbers, but it looks real. Scammers will try to take the money off your account, which is enough to give us access to their information. Based on the details we get, we can figure out who they are
- The information that we obtain is enough for you to file a complaint against these fraudsters
- If you’re not sure how to create and send a demand letter for compensation, DoNotPay can give you a hand with this step
Take Precautionary Measures to Prevent Robocalls
Robocalls can be both annoying and threatening, especially when a scammer is on the other end. So, it would be a smart move to take some steps to prevent them from causing you trouble in the future. Here are the essential tips to keep in mind if you want to try to avoid robocalls and protect yourself from getting scammed:
- Contact the National Do Not Call Registry and put your number on the Do Not Call list
- Giving your phone number may not seem as risky as revealing your credit card info, but it can be, so be careful who you give your number to
- Revealing credit card details poses a much greater risk, as wrong callers who get hold of your sensitive info can cause you severe credit card issues. To avoid this, only reveal your credit card info to familiar and reputable callers
- Never accept any extravagant prizes that robocallers offer you out of the blue
- Switch to an unlisted phone number to make it more difficult for scammers to find you
Most Common Robocall Scams to Beware of
No matter how many precautionary measures you take, you might still receive robocalls. Scammers often find a way to get around rules, so they may still reach you. In case something like that happens, you should know how to spot a robocall scam. Here are some of the most common forms to beware of:
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Common Robocall Scams |
Things to Know About Them |
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Investment fraud | You may receive a robocall that invites you to make an investment and promise a much greater gain, so it sounds tempting. These scammers even go out of their way to provide official-looking documents, so people often believe them. Don’t let yourself fall into this trap. This is investment fraud, so if you give them any money, you can be sure you’ll never see it again, let alone get any gain from the investment. |
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Fake robocalls from banks | Robocallers who impersonate bank officials are also quite common. They usually tell you that your credit or debit card information has been stolen or that there has been unusual activity on your account. They expect you to start panicking when you hear this and give them any information they ask for. Unfortunately, it often works. But now that you know that this is a scam, you should make sure that that is, in fact, someone from your bank before you reveal any info. |
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Prize scams | Another common form of fraud is a prize scam. If you receive a robocall that tells you that you’re the lucky winner of an extravagant prize, whatever that may be, you need to know that you’re dealing with a scammer. They usually offer an enormous amount of money or a trip to an exotic destination. In any case, you shouldn’t accept anything from them. |
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Neighbor spoofing | Scammers also often use different methods to spoof numbers to make the call look like it’s coming from your neighborhood. No matter where they actually are, your caller ID will show your local area code. These fraudsters want you to think that it must be your neighbor calling. If they manage to lead you to think that, you are more likely to pick up the phone. |
DoNotPay Is Here to Help You With Other Issues, Too
Dealing with annoying robocalls is stressful and tiresome, but it’s not the only problematic situation that you can encounter on a daily basis. We understand this, and we want to help you out as much as possible. All we need you to do is open our app via the . DoNotPay has a range of other services to help you get justice, including the following:
- Reaching customer support faster by jumping long phone queues
- Appealing parking tickets all around the country
- Disputing speeding tickets
- Getting you compensation for robocall scams
- Helping you solve various issues with credit cards
- Scheduling DMV appointments for you
- Monitoring and canceling your subscriptions
- Disputing traffic tickets
- Helping you send demand letters to people and companies in small claims court
- Getting you airline compensation for delayed or canceled flights
- Helping you manage massive bills