Not even AT&T's CEO can escape the onslaught of robocalls

How's that for irony.

The Verge reported that during an Economic Club event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was interrupted in the middle of an on-stage interview by, what else, a robocall.

The robocall epidemic — that is, the swarm of computerized telemarketing calls that deliver a pre-recorded message to your phone — is on the rise and no one, not even the head of one of the nation's most powerful mobile carriers, can escape its reach.

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Lawmakers have orchestrated bipartisan efforts to address the problem and customers are pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to put an end to scammer calls, per The Verge. FCC chair Ajit Pai, meanwhile, has threatened federal intervention if carriers like AT&T don't find a way to curb the calls. But so far their efforts have been fruitless, meaning that, for the time being, those random numbers will continue to haunt us all.