How good are you at identifying when you’ve received a real call versus a robocall? Automated calls are increasing in frequency. And it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between legitimate business communications and nuisance robocalls because of the incredible advances in natural voice technologies that more than not sound like real people. . . More and more, customer service and sales teams are finding themselves losing valuable time and resources dealing with unwanted calls. Even worse, if you’re not already using a professional call center to help you screen and qualify callers, your inability to differentiate between real calls and spam or malicious robocalls can lead to lost revenue, operational inefficiency, and security risks.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to identify robocalls, what steps you can take to manage them, and how a compliance-focused partner like AnswerNet can help ensure your outbound and inbound communications remain safe, compliant, and effective.
What Is a Robocall?
A robocall is an automated phone call that delivers a pre-recorded message or automated and responsive voice dialogue to your phone. These calls can be used for various purposes, from legitimate automated notifications (like appointment reminders) to fraudulent schemes aimed at obtaining sensitive information. Simple questions that are used to validate your identity are often crafted into simple benign sounding lines of questioning to socially hack details of your identity. And now AI can take voice recording samples and create somewhat believable voice avatars of you! These technical capabilities are fascinating, but also troubling. Before we continue, I should emphasize once more–we’re not talking about routine communications like appointment reminders, community updates, and other standard mass communications. We’re focused on helping you identify and circumvent time-wasting spam and bad actors that wish to scam you and steal your information or identity.
With robocalls increasing, it’s important to develop the ability to identify a real call versus a robocall.
How to Spot a Robocall
Pause or Delay:
Robocalls often have a noticeable pause or delay and sometimes a click or tone before the message starts. This is due to the system connecting you to the pre-recorded message or bot after you answer.
Requesting Personal Information:
Beware of calls asking for sensitive information, such as your birthday, social security number or banking details. According to the Federal Trade Commission, legitimate companies will rarely ask for such details through automated calls. Moreover, if you wish to verify that you are talking to your bank or another group you have legitimate business with, they should be happy to let you call them back through a verified number. Bank of America’s lending office now makes it a standard practice to let customers know they are encouraged to hang up and call back if that makes them feel more secure. They’re also actively promoting educational information regarding how customers can identify a bank scam. If you’re concerned, take additional steps to protect yourself! Legitimate businesses will understand why you might be hesitant to give out personal information.
Human-like Voices and Conversational Tone:
Modern robocalls use highly sophisticated text-to-speech technologies and natural language processing (NLP) to mimic human speech patterns. Legitimate research and development into NLP is being developed by companies like IBM. Similar technologies are being developed by countless companies and the collective advances will become the basis of ethical self-service and convenience automation technologies in the future. But with robocalls, there’s a different end in mind–to deceive or mislead. The tone of the message may even sound casual and conversational as if the caller is genuinely engaging in a dialogue rather than delivering a pre-recorded message. These calls often include pauses, stammers, spoonerisms and other intentional slips to simulate a live person talking. Sophisticated scams might even incorporate synthesized voice of a person you know. NPR did a show back in January of 2024 entitled Preparing For The Age Of AI Scams. This is worth a listen if only as a reminder of how creative and enterprising criminals have become, adapting these technologies to craft more and more convincing interactions.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems:
Some robocalls employ IVR systems that ask questions and wait for responses from the recipient. This technology creates an illusion of a two-way conversation, where the robocall adapts to the listener’s replies by playing pre-recorded responses triggered by keywords or voice tones. This tactic can be particularly deceptive, as the recipient may believe they are interacting with a real agent. In the third episode of the three-part HBO docuseries “Telemarketers”, there is a scene where the two men making the documentary listen to a recording of a former co-worker of theirs who is long deceased, but whose voice is still being used to sell decals for one of the state police benevolent associations. And this was WAY before AI really took off.
Staged Background Noises:
To enhance realism, robocalls sometimes include background noises that replicate environments like call centers or busy public places. These sounds make the recipient feel as if they are receiving a call from a legitimate business.
Customized Caller ID (Caller ID Spoofing):
Robocallers often use caller ID spoofing, where the caller ID is manipulated to show a local or trusted number, such as a bank or government agency. This tactic increases the likelihood that recipients will answer, thinking the call is from someone familiar. If you ever see two local calls ring to your phone in close succession without leaving a message, that can be a sign that you’re receiving an automated robocall. The FCC has a really great video about spoofing if this is a new concept to you. The FCC’s STIR/SHAKEN rules that require caller ID authentication have helped curb robocalls, but it’s a moving target and evolving tech ecosystem, so the rules have to constantly be updated.
Friendly or Familiar Openers:
Robocalls sometimes begin with personal or relatable statements like “Hi, this is Jason! How are you today?” followed by a brief pause to make it feel like a live interaction. The pause may trick recipients into responding, which makes the robocall seem even more convincing. Some robocall routines have the recorded voice open with a joke, punctuated with a chuckle. It’s very cringe.
Recorded Human Voices:
Instead of using a robotic or synthesized voice, some robocalls feature pre-recorded human voices. The use of real human voices helps build credibility and can be less suspicious to the listener than traditional robotic tones. As mentioned before, these systems can be interactive and leverage triggers with branch scripting and AI logic to reply back with segments of pre-recorded soundbites that fit the scenario. Some companies are actually using soundboards to perform this same task. In a sound board environment, a call center rep (most often in a low-cost market) navigates each conversation by pressing buttons on a board that is organized with pre-recorded bits that can be played with a single click of a button. This is arguably still a human-driven process, but again, the intention of the tool is to hide the identity of the actual call center agent which makes it a bit questionable.
Trigger Responses Based on Common Phrases:
Advanced robocalls are capable of detecting common responses, such as “Yes” or “No,” and will trigger the next phase of the message accordingly. This creates the illusion of a conversation rather than a one-sided message. This capability is a hybrid of branch scripting logic and meta-tagging for subject matter and intent. Not quite.
These tactics aim to blur the line between real calls and robocalls, making it harder for recipients to quickly discern the nature of the call. It’s essential for businesses and consumers to remain vigilant, use call screening tools, and stay informed about these deceptive practices.
Best Practices for Managing Unwanted Calls
- Use Call Screening Services: Employing phone answer services that screen out unwanted calls can save your business time and reduce security risks. For businesses, having a virtual receptionist or inbound services that identify and block robocalls can increase operational efficiency.
- Register for the Do Not Call List: Make sure your number is listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, which can significantly reduce the number of telemarketing robocalls you receive.
- Validate Legitimate Automated Messages: Not all automated calls are bad. Businesses often use legitimate, compliance-approved outbound services to provide notifications, like appointment reminders, shipping status, or service updates. Ensure these calls are coming from recognized numbers and are within legal bounds.
AnswerNet’s Role in Ethical, Compliant Outbound and Inbound Campaigns
At AnswerNet, we understand the fine line between managing automated calls and ensuring your outbound services that may leverage some element of automation remain ethical and effective. Our compliance division works closely with our clients to develop outbound telemarketing campaigns that align with federal regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) which includes managing an internal Do Not Call registry as well as scrubbing contact lists against federal and state DNC registries. This protects businesses from potential fines while ensuring their messages reach the right audience.
Navigating the complexities of identifying and managing robocalls can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right phone answer services and a partner like AnswerNet, you can avoid the pitfalls of bad actors and ensure that your outbound and inbound communications are compliant, efficient, and secure. Our inbound services, including virtual receptionist solutions, also help screen out unwanted robocalls, preventing them from wasting your team’s time or risking security breaches. These services act as a first line of defense, filtering robocalls so your team can focus on more important tasks.
