FINGERS CROSSED: Robocalls are out of control. But that could change after June 30. “The way it works is that Stir/Shaken technology ensures that calls traveling through phone networks have their caller ID “signed” as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before the calls reach you. In short, the technology authenticates a phone call’s origin and makes certain the information on the Caller ID matches.”

A simple 25¢ credit card deposit to make a call, fully refundable upon acceptance of the call, would do the trick.