How many robocalls do you receive every day? Many of us receive numerous calls a day. While there are legitimate reasons to use recorded or automated messages, the number of spam and scam calls are overwhelming.

Robocalls are the number one complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission.

Robocalls are the number one complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission. In May, according to robocall-blocking and tracking technology firm YouMail, there were 4.7 billion robocalls and 43% of them were scam calls.

In early June, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a rule that will now allow phone carriers to block suspected scam and spam calls. The carriers can also make enrollment in their robocall-blocking services automatic instead of consumers having to opt-in to them. They can also allow consumers to block calls from unknown numbers themselves. Customers can opt into or out of any of the blocking services.

The rule does not require the carriers to automatically enroll customers in robocall-blocking. Nor does the rule specify that the services should be offered for free but the FCC expects them to be.

While this rule is a good step, there may be problems with it as it could block legitimate calls such as calls from your doctor or pharmacy.

Whether you use the call-blocking features provided by your carrier or a third-party, the FCC has provided some tips to help you stop the calls and avoid scams.