Indiana Man Says He Gets Up to 90 Spam Calls a Day

For many people, a few spam calls a day are an annoyance. For one Indiana business owner, the calls have become an overwhelming part of his workday.

Jeff Bavar of Osceola says he receives an average of about 90 spam calls a day on his company cell phone. On some days, he says, the number reaches between 80 and 120 calls.

Bavar says the calls started after he turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare.

He is already enrolled in Medicare through a local agency and says he has repeatedly told callers that he doesn't need their services. The calls, however, continued.

Bavar says the situation became especially frustrating because the calls were coming to his business phone.

He eventually began confronting some of the callers. In one instance, Bavar says a caller threatened to put him on a list that would result in calls every one to two minutes.

Bavar's experience caught the attention of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who said the situation appeared to be particularly concerning.

"I want to reach out to him directly and get his information to see," Rokita said. "Because this is a different little variation. This is almost like it's predatory."

The attorney general's office later contacted Bavar and offered to personally enroll his phone number in the federal Do Not Call Registry. Rokita also recommended that consumers take advantage of spam-blocking programs offered by mobile carriers.

Verizon's Katherine Cruz recommends the company's Call Filter service, which is available in free and paid versions.

Cruz says the service can automatically identify and block spam calls, sending them directly to voicemail.

She also advises consumers not to answer calls from numbers they don't recognize.

With artificial intelligence making it easier for scammers to reach people and potentially make fraudulent calls appear more convincing, Cruz says consumers should maintain that first line of defense.

"When you answer, you lose that control," Cruz said. "So I would say don't answer, be level-headed."

Bavar says he hopes the calls eventually stop.

"You know, I think I'm on the extreme case of spam calls," he said. "But yet, where's our stop means stop?"

Explore: NBCPalmSprings.com, where we are connecting the Valley.