Is there finally some relief from annoying robocalls?

Over the past year, prodded by the government, cell phones have added tools to counteract unwanted “robocalls.”

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed letting phone companies block more spam and is hoping to deter scammers with big fines.

The federal and state “Do Not Call” lists are supposed to protect people from unwanted calls from telemarketers.

[...] spam callers have tricky technology that makes a phone’s caller ID display a local or important-looking caller, like the IRS.

Cracking down on “spoofed” numbers would make running a scam more difficult and save U.S. consumers millions of dollars, a group of state attorneys general said in an FCC filing.

Phone companies and independent apps can screen or block unwanted calls by checking them against databases of known problem numbers and analyzing suspicious behavior, like a number that’s calling lots of people on Do Not Call lists.

Wireless carriers also have tools that flag incoming calls with warnings like “scam likely,” but they aren’t available on all phones, or to many prepaid customers.

A few Android phones, including Google’s Pixel, screen spam calls for free.

Jen Vargas, 39, a multimedia producer from Orlando, said her AT&T app flags and blocks some fraudulent calls to her cell phone, but she’s given up with the landline.

Apps including YouMail and Nomorobo offer relief on home phones for free, with limitations.

Maureen Mahoney, a public policy fellow at the nonprofit Consumers Union, said the development is “promising” but won’t protect consumers from all unwanted calls.

For one thing, “Do Not Call” lists don’t apply to certain types of callers, such as debt collectors and political campaigns.

If you have privacy concerns, check the app’s policy to see if it’s sharing your call or contacts data with marketers.