Ban All Robocalls? Survey Says No

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Aug. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First Orion, provider of data and phone call transparency solutions, today announced the results of a new study* that finds consumers conflicted when it comes to robocalls.

Mobile phones used to be a safe haven against unwanted robocalls. Unfortunately, all of this has changed significantly in recent years. Over 2.4 billion robocalls were made each month in 2016 alone, making it the number one consumer complaint to the FCC and FTC. To better understand the kinds of calls that continue to bombard consumers, First Orion surveyed 1,000 mobile phone users from the United States and found not all robocalls are responsible for pestering consumers.

Close to 85 percent of those surveyed have received a robocall on their mobile phone half of which were spam or scam related. Nearly 60 percent of respondents believe there is no such thing as a "good" robocall. It is not surprising that 9 in 10 people associate robocall with the term "annoying."

Though people overwhelmingly think robocalls are bad, they do believe there are "good" robocalls. In fact, almost 85 percent of respondents would not consider an automated call from their pharmacy an annoyance. This also applies to additional use cases for legitimate robocalls such as automated appointment reminders from a doctor, weather warnings and product recall alerts.

Other interesting facts include:

• Almost 92 percent believe it is important to know who is calling before they answer
• Nearly 86 percent of those surveyed feel it is important to know why a number is calling (category of call, business type, additional information about the call)
• Over 77 percent of those who currently have a landline would be likely to enable scam/spam identification and blocking services if they were available
• More than 26 percent of respondents said they would change from their current carrier if it meant telemarketers and scammers could be blocked or identified when they called

As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) challenges phone carriers to address the robocall issue, the best technology solution will focus on the transparency of the incoming call. If a solution can identify who is calling and why then carriers and consumers can determine appropriate calls to block or allow through.

"It's natural that the surge in malicious robocalling makes us want to eliminate all robocalls," said Jonathan Sasse, CMO of First Orion. "It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Solutions exist today that can confidently distinguish between a pharmacy, doctor, school or potential scammer before ever reaching our mobile phones."  

In addition to providing PrivacyStar applications for Android and iOS users, First Orion offers FONES for carriers and service providers to deliver the highest level of confidence and flexibility in protecting subscribers from scams and other unwanted calls. FONES enables carriers to easily and seamlessly deploy settings to protect all customers from identified malicious callers, such as known scammers that use robocalling.

About First Orion
First Orion provides data and phone call transparency solutions across multiple platforms, world-class data solutions, in-network call control and its PrivacyStar powered application solutions. First Orion Network Enterprise Solutions (FONES) currently provides call control, call blocking, call transparency and call management solutions to millions of mobile handsets. With branded and white-labeled applications as well as in-network solutions, First Orion assists mobile carriers in protecting mobile subscribers from unwanted or unknown calls, including Scammers, robocalls and Telemarketers. First Orion is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas with offices in Seattle, Dallas and London. For regular updates, please visit www.FirstOrion.com.

* First Orion surveyed 1,000 mobile phone users in the United States

PrivacyStar and First Orion are registered trademarks of First Orion Corp. All registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Jackie Eicholz
First Orion
831.401.3175
[email protected]

SOURCE First Orion

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http://www.firstorion.com