ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It seems like there's no end to annoying robocalls these days. About 3.5 billion were reported nationwide last month -- almost a billion more than last year.

Katie Trott, like many of us, has had enough.

“It’s just nonstop,” Trott said. “It’s absolutely nonstop. ... It’s just so annoying,” she said. “When I do get them, they’re always vacation plans or health care.”

Part of what’s driving the robocall frenzy is computer-automated dialing.

Don’t answer unless you know the number.

“What they’re trying to do is verify that you’re a live human being. And when you verify that, they’re going to transfer that call to a live salesperson to try and sell you their product or service,” said Bryan Oglesby of the Better Business Bureau.

Trott said she ignores the calls most of the time, but it’s not easy to catch them all.

“They’re so tricky," she said. "They can figure out ways to get you.”

Beware spoofing

Caller ID "spoofing," which generates fake phone numbers, is one of those ways. It prevents you from knowing who is actually calling you.

A new twist on spoofing that’s been tricking a lot of people lately is referred to as “neighbor spoofing.” The robocall actually spoofs the first few digits of your own phone number, in addition to the area code, so the number looks familiar to you, and you pick up before you realize what you’re doing.

“At first I used to answer the number that had the first six digits of my number, thinking it must be somebody that I know, (that it) must be somebody important,” Trott said.

If you do happen to answer a robocall, hang up immediately, and do not press any buttons.

“If you confirm you’re a consumer on the other end, that’s a hot lead for these companies,” Oglesby said.

Also, avoid giving out your number, especially online.

“Read (companies’) privacy policies, read their terms and conditions, and know what that info is going to be used for,” Oglesby said.

The Better Business Bureau just issued a scam alert about robocalls targeting speakers of Mandarin in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other countries. The BBB Scam Tracker has received several reports regarding this con in the past several weeks. Click here to learn more about it.

Ways to fight

To stop the calls from coming in, be sure sign up for both Florida’s “Do Not Call” registry and the National Do Not Call list at http://www.donotcall.gov, but also follow up to report companies that harass you, "so they can take action and tally this information, and they can crack down more on these companies doing these calls,” Oglesby said.

The Federal Trade Commission also has important information for consumers on avoiding robocalls on their website.

There are also a number of software options that can help reduce calls to both landlines and mobile phones. Nomorobo utilizes technology that identifies and answers robocalls so they don’t go through to you. The software is free for landlines and $1.99 a month per device for cellphones.

Other options include:

And if you really want revenge, try the Jolly Roger Telephone Company. According to The New York Times, this program allows a customer to put the phone on mute and patch telemarketing calls to a robot, which understands speech patterns and inflections and works to keep the caller engaged.

Unfortunately, robocalls aren’t likely to end anytime soon. So what's your best defense for the ones that get past even the software options? Ignore them as best you can, and never give them the satisfaction of picking up.