How to stop spam calls

Spam calls by nature are frustrating but they can also be dangerous as scammers try to steal your personal information or voice recording for malicious purposes. The easiest way to stop spam calls is blocking the number on your device, but it can only help when it’s a one-time occurrence.

In this article, we’ll teach you how to stop spam calls no matter if it’s a one-time thing or a daily annoyance. You’ll also learn what spam calls are, their risks, and tips on how to stay safe.

What is a spam call?

A spam call is an unwanted call made from a source with an unknown phone number. Some spam calls are made by businesses trying to sell you something, but scam calls are usually someone pretending to be a specific company.

There are many known scams, such as Geek Squad scam, phone scam, or a fake Apple security alert warning. All scams have the same goal – to steal something from you. This can be an unauthorized recording of your voice or sensitive information.

For this, scammers use social engineering – a phishing tactic where the callers are trying to pretend to be someone they’re not and manipulate personal information out of you.

In the US alone, spam calls received by Americans average out to 2.7 billion cases monthly according to Truecaller. You can see the monthly volumes in 2024 below.

The same company also found that most spam calls come from the US (91.28%), while 8% come from other countries, mostly India.

What’s interesting is that some scammers even have dedicated offices and run scam call center businesses. A YouTube channel called Scammer Payback even made an investigative video on scammers in India who are working full-time in such spaces.

Why am I getting spam calls?

There are many ways spammers can get ahold of your phone number. Here are some of the main methods:

• Your number got on the dark web. If a phone number appears on the place on the internet where cybercriminals put stolen personal data, you’re likely to receive plenty of spam calls. Some antivirus software, like Norton, offers phone number monitoring and call blocking for suspicious numbers.
• Your data experienced a data breach. If you signed up with your phone number to multiple websites, chances are your data was exposed in a data breach.
• You shared your number on social media. Anything you share on social media can be seen by anyone, so giving out sensitive information is risky. Never share your phone number, personal email address, or even your home address online.
• You answer spam calls. If you answer each time an unknown number calls you, spammers are likely to contact you again. One user on Reddit complained about getting insane amounts of spam calls after answering and messing with a few of them – this is a good example of what not to do because it signals that your number is active.

What are the risks of spam calls?

The safest way to deal with spam calls is to not answer them, which comes with no risks. However, if you do answer, there are a couple of things that could happen:

• Higher phone bill. If your phone provider charges you for receiving calls, your bill could go up.
• Unauthorized recordings. Scammers can record your voice, especially basic phrases, for authorizing payments or agreements.
• Stolen accounts. Scammers often pretend to be customer service or technical support asking you for sensitive information, including passwords.
• Identity theft. If you engage with scammers, they might try to lure out your social security number by pretending to be a trusted company.

All of these risks can lead to huge monetary damages. According to the Truecaller’s America Under Attack report, 21% of Americans lost money due to scams in 2024, resulting in an average of $450 loss per person. Meanwhile, Hiya’s State of the Call 2024 report found that in Germany and France, 19% and 18% of consumers (respectively) lost money.

How to stop spam calls on your iPhone

There are two ways to stop spam calls on your iPhone. If it’s a one-time occurrence, blocking the number can be the fastest solution. However, for more severe cases, it’s best to send the unknown calls straight to voicemail so you don’t get bothered. Let’s take a look at how to implement both of these solutions.

Block the spam caller number

The easiest way to deal with spam calls when it’s a singular case is to block the callers. Here’s a tutorial on how to do it on an iPhone:

1. Open the Phone app and find the number you want to block.
2. Click the information icon on the right and press Block Caller.

Blocking a number will prevent the person from calling you through your number or FaceTime and messaging you.

Send unknown callers to voicemail

However, for repeated spam calls, you can set your iPhone to send unknown and spam callers to voicemail. Here’s how to do it:

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings.
2. Scroll down and click the Phone app.
3. Click “Silence Unknown Callers” and toggle on the feature.

That’s it. If you’re awaiting a job offer or someone else with an unknown number to call you, it’s best to block the spam callers for now.

How to stop spam calls on Android

Blocking spam calls straight from your Android device can be done in two ways – blocking the caller number or enabling caller ID and spam protection. Let’s take a look at how to do it both ways.

Block spam caller numbers

Blocking a number on Android means it will be automatically declined and you won’t receive messages. Here’s how to block spam caller numbers on Android:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Click the avatar of the contact you wish to block in the Recents tab and press Block numbers.

Some phones also have the “report as spam” option, which you can check by clicking and pressing Block.

Enable Caller ID and spam protection

Android devices come with caller ID and spam features that allow you to identify spam numbers and prevent numbers from annoying you if they’re suspected to be spammer calls. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to enable these features:

1. In the Phone app, click the three dots in the upper-right corner and press Settings.
2. Click “Caller ID and spam” and toggle on the “See caller and spam ID” and “Filter spam calls.”

How to block spam calls on your landline

Depending on your network provider, you may be able to use filters on your landlines to prevent spam calls. Here are a few you can try out:

• Code *60. You can use this code to block spam calls. Dial it and you’ll receive a set of instructions for blocking a specific number. You can unblock the phone number by dialing  *80. If none of it works, check if your provider offers a different blocking method.
• Code *77. This code will automatically reject calls from numbers that are either blocked or unidentified. To disable it, you can dial *87. If the filtering code doesn’t work, check with your provider if they offer a different method.

Other ways to stop spam calls

If blocking or enabling spam filtering on your device doesn’t help, there are multiple other ways you can put a stop to spam calls. Here are all of them in detail.

Sign your number up to the Do Not Call Registry

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a Do Not Call Registry that you can put your phone on. Since telemarketers use public contacts to make calls, having your number on the Do Not Call Registry hides your number from public lists, reducing the number of spam calls.

The easiest way to sign up is to call 1-888-382-1222 or text 1-866-290-4236 from the phone you want to register. Alternatively, you can complete the registration on the FTC’s website:

1. Open the donotcall.gov website and click “Register Your Phone.”
2. If you’ve never inserted your number on the Registry, click REGISTER HERE.
3. Enter your phone number and email address and click SUBMIT.
4. Go to your email and confirm the registration by following the provided instructions.

Block calls using your phone provider’s services

We researched in what ways the most popular phone providers in the US offer to prevent spam calls. All of the methods are completely free, and the mentioned apps are all available on iPhone and Android. Here’s how to stop spam calls with different phone providers:

During our research, we found that providers like Visible or MintMobile do not have options to block numbers. In such cases, you should stop spam calls by blocking specific numbers on your device or using a third-party spam call-blocking app.

Stop spam calls using a third-party app

There are many third-party apps that were made to block spam calls. However, we researched and found apps with the biggest spam number database. All of these apps have free versions. Here they are:

• Hiya – this app warns you about robocalls and scam calls. The premium plan is available with a free 7-day trial and costs $3.99/month or $24.99/year.
• Robokiller – blocks spam calls and confuses spammers with pre-recorded nonsense to waste their time. After a one-week trial, you can get it starting from $3.99/month or $29.99/year.
• Nomorobo – stops frustrating robocalls and spam texts (SMS protection is only on iOS). There’s a 14-day free trial for premium plans which start from $1.99/month or $19.99/year.

Note that all of these apps are available on both Android and iPhone devices.

Spam call safety tips

The easiest way to stay safe is to never answer spam calls. However, it’s not always possible when you’re waiting for a call from an unknown number, for example, for a job offering. Whatever the case, here are the main safety tips to keep in mind regarding spam calls:

• Never answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. If you answer, hang up as soon as possible. Additionally, if you’re expecting a call from an unknown number, look it up online before answering or call back after.
• Hang up if the unknown number asks to hit a button. This means scammers are trying to identify potential victims they could exploit.
• Don’t answer any questions. Answering questions, especially with “yes,” can make you a victim of a scam. Recordings of your agreement can be used to authorize purchases or agree to something without your knowledge.
• Don’t provide your personal information. Never reveal your personal information to an unknown caller, including any of your passwords, bank details, social security number, or anything else.
• Be cautious. If you’re noticing that the caller is pressuring you to say or do something using urgency, hang up.

Conclusion

Stopping spam calls includes taking a variety of security measures. If blocking numbers isn’t enough, you should enable spam filtering on your device, sign up your number to the Do Not Call Registry, block calls using your phone provider’s services, or even use a third-party app for spammer detection.

The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t answer unknown phone numbers. If your phone service provider charges for incoming calls, your bill could quickly skyrocket. Plus, you’re risking being manipulated to give up personal data. The best way to be safe in terms of spam calls is to never pick up.