Highlights:
- Advanced call and fax blocking: Allow or block specific phone numbers from calling or faxing you.
- Block calls and faxes with no caller ID, allow or block numbers that start with a specific area code, and other advanced options.
In 2021, Americans lost $29.8 billion collectively to phone scams. Also known as vishing—the combination of voice and phishing—any business that falls prey can face catastrophic disasters. Data breaches and financial fraud, to name a few.
Just look at these statistics on recent spam attacks and their impacts on US businesses:
- In March 2022, 2.5 billion robocalls came from spam and telemarketing.
- 69% of organizations experienced vishing attacks in 2021—a 15% increase over a 12-month period.
- The cost of data breaches increased from $3.86 million to $4.24 million in 2021—the highest average total cost in 17 years.
At RingCentral, we understand how spam calls can disrupt your organization. That’s why privacy and security are key principles in all our solutions.
We’re excited to introduce our new Advanced Call and Fax Blocking feature, which allows you to block specific numbers and area codes (or vice versa) and customize your advanced blocking options.
What is Advanced Call and Fax Blocking?
Advanced call and fax blocking allows you to create blocking rules for your staff through your RingCentral account.
- Block specific phone numbers and faxes via area codes or prefixes (for example, 1-800 toll-free numbers)
- Create your own settings to block calls and faxes from those with no caller ID or even numbers from payphones.
Numbers added to your blocked numbers list can’t call, fax, or send SMS/MMS messages. The feature also respects your privacy by not letting callers know that they are blocked.
In fact, you can choose from predefined voicemail messages and send blocked callers directly there—just as if you simply didn’t answer.
Adding numbers to the block list can be done right from users’ RingCentral apps. Customize block settings at the company or user level to fit your calling and faxing needs.
More than just blocking
1. Boost productivity
Spam calls don’t just expose your company to vishing scams; they also disrupt your day-to-day operations.
Customer support and sales teams answer most inbound calls and strive to meet mission-critical KPIs. But spam calls can completely interrupt their focus and time, which can be better spent on reaching real customers.
In addition, if you have agents assigned to serve a specific area code, you can configure block settings so they only receive calls from that area code and automatically send all others to voicemail. This ensures that only relevant calls reach their phones, helping hit targets faster.
2. Stay focused
Imagine that you’re working on an urgent, heads-down project and need total concentration for several days in a row.
With advanced call blocking, you can create your own “do not disturb” mode by blocking all non-important numbers. If you’re expecting important calls, simply adjust your block settings to allow specific numbers to come through.
Reducing spam calls is always a win
Phone calls are at the heart of every successful project, innovation, and sale. And we’re here to ensure your and your customers’ calling experience is best-in-class.
Check out how we prevent your teams from ever answering robocalls via our STIR/SHAKEN implementation:
Advanced call and fax blocking is now available in all RingCentral experiences globally. Check out the links below for more information and try it out on the RingCentral app today.
Originally published May 06, 2022
