App turns the tables on telemarketers: 'People should be able to get back at them'
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tired of telemarketers blowing up your phone? Wish you could turn the tables on the spammers? There's an app for that!
"Hi, I'm calling from the health insurance enrollment center..."
"Hi, this is Todd from the fulfillment department..."
"This matter is a very serious emergency..."
The calls seem never-ending. Some said they get more than one per day -- every day of the week, and not only do they waste your time, they're a waste of breath.
"Some of them will be like 'hey, something's wrong with your computer,'" one victim said.
"'We encountered a serious issue coming out of your computer,'" another victim said.
No one likes the dreaded robo-calls.
"It gets pretty annoying because it's not like it's important to talk to them," a victim said.
Believe it or not, there were roughly 30 billion robo-calls placed last year alone. Do the math, and that's 1,000 calls per second. Many of them even look like legitimate numbers, sharing your same area code.
Imagine if you could get revenge on these sneaky spammers. Well, now you can.
"Last month, we wasted more than 50,000 hours of spammers' time," said Ethan Garr, Robokiller spokesman.
The Robokiller app blocks those calls and goes a step further -- using recorded bots to annoy the annoyers.
"Hi, hello! My name is Avi and I'm calling to inform you..."
"You just caught me in a vocal training exercise..."
The app turns the tables on the spammers.
"We think that's really important. If we can steal their time, it's time that they can't use to scam anybody. They're taking time. They're taking money. They're taking identities from people every day, and we think people should be able to get back at them for that," said Garr.
Robokiller costs $2.50 per month, and it's available for Apple and Android.
If that's not for you, there's still a low-tech way to deal with these alls.
"If you don't recognize the number, don't answer it. Wait for it to go to your answering machine and check it from there -- and always be skeptical," said Garr.