Report the Spam Callers in Your Voicemail to the FCC

If your voicemail is full of spam and robocalls, a muse can work through the list and file complaints about those callers with the FCC, the US agency that collects reports on unwanted calls.

What it does

Most people delete spam voicemails one by one, which takes time and changes nothing. Each of those messages is a report waiting to be filed: the number that called, the time, and what the message was pushing. A muse can go through your voicemail box, pull the details out of each spam message, and file a complaint for each caller through the FCC complaint process. Filed complaints come back with a written confirmation that the request was received, so you can see the filings are real. A stack of complaints from one person will not stop the calls on its own, but regulators use complaint volume to pick which calling operations to investigate, so filed reports do work that deleting never does.

How to use it

1. Do not delete your spam voicemails yet. Let a week or two collect if your box is nearly empty.
2. Give the muse access to your voicemail, and say which messages are spam and which are real calls to leave alone.
3. Ask the muse to list what it found first: calling numbers, dates, and what each message was selling.
4. Check that list, and remove anything that is not clearly spam, such as a doctor's office or a delivery driver.
5. Tell the muse to file a complaint for each remaining caller, in your name.
6. Keep the confirmations that come back, and repeat the job monthly as new spam collects.

What you need

• A muse account
• A voicemail box with spam messages still in it
• Your name and contact details for the complaint forms
• A few minutes to check the caller list before anything is filed

What to watch for

• A complaint is a statement in your name. Only file on calls you actually received, and never let the muse guess a number or a date.
• Filing does not block the number. Keep using your phone's blocking and your carrier's spam filter for day-to-day relief.
• Some spam numbers are faked to look like a real person's number. The complaint should describe the call you got. The confirmation proves it was filed, not who really called.
• It is normal if handing an agent your voicemail sounds strange. Start with the list only, and file nothing until it looks right. The muse prepares, you decide.