If you hate getting phone calls from telemarketers, you probably know to sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov). This list, maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, blocks salespeople from calling you, but it doesn’t block scam calls. And it doesn’t block charities from calling to solicit donations or political groups from calling you before an election.
Often scammers—and even legitimate organizations—can make their calls from afar look like they’re coming from your area code. That can make it hard to tell when you should pick up a call or let it go to voicemail. And on those occasions where you do pick up, it’s easy to get cornered by a caller asking for donations for a charity you may indeed want to support.
To make dealing with these calls a little easier, pick a time of day when these calls can’t interrupt you. A great time to do it is after dinnertime when you’re winding down from the day—and when you’re also tired from making decisions all day. That’s when you may be most vulnerable to requests from organizations soliciting donations or vulnerable to scams, even if you think you’re savvy.
Set your phone to switch over to “Do Not Disturb” during those hours to send all calls to voicemail without bothering you. Not only will it help you avoid uncomfortable solicitations, it takes away that decision about whether to answer the phone at all. Then, make sure the family and friends you talk with most often are on a “favorites” list so you’ll hear the calls that you look forward to taking.