How to Block Spammers, Scammers and Telemarketers on Your Phone

Life is busy enough without wasting time with spammers, scammers and telemarketers. Whether you’re a victim of pushy lawyers, fraudulent car warranty reps, or a drunk ex, there’s a way to stop the endless calls and messages. Major carriers and phone manufacturers have improved their fight against unwanted calls and messages in recent years. So let’s see how you can block them effectively.

We also have guides on how to avoid spam with disposable contact information, protect against smishing attacksAnd avoid phishing scams. Frustrated by the whole situation and curious as to why no one has been able to stop the barrage of spam calls? Check out WIRED Senior Editor Lily Hay Newman’s article on our the hell of perpetual robocalls.

What to keep in mind

Before we dive into the blocking options, there are a few things to know:

• If possible, do not answer any calls from numbers you do not recognize. Callers with something important to say will likely leave a message anyway. Unfortunately, this won’t work for people whose activities or interests involve lots of calls from unknown numbers.
• Never click on a link or attachment in a spam text message, as this could trigger malware. If possible, avoid opening them altogether.
• Never respond to a spam text message, as this will confirm that your number is valid.
• If you are concerned that the call or message is from a legitimate company, try entering the number into your favorite search engine. Although it can be difficult to confirm a scammer’s number, it is easy to verify a legitimate number. If you can’t find anything on the number, be careful and ignore it. We’ll tell you how to block numbers, but it’s also important to report unwanted calls and messages. If it is telemarketing, scam or spam, you can report it to the FTC here. You can also add your number to the Do Not Call Registry, although this only works for sales calls from reputable companies. Unfortunately, many organizations and fraudsters ignore this. Below we’ll look at how to report the numbers to manufacturers, carriers and third parties. The more people do this, the easier it is to identify and preemptively block or label harmful numbers.

How to Block Calls and Texts on an iPhone

It’s easy to block individual numbers on your iPhone. Here’s how to do it:

• In the Phone app, tap Recentthen press the Information icon next to the number or contact you want to block. Scroll down and tap Block this caller.
• In the FaceTime app, tap the Information next to the number, contact, or email address you want to block, then scroll down to tap Block this caller.
• In the Messages app, open the conversation with the contact you want to block, tap the contact at the top, then tap the icon Information scroll down and tap Block this caller.

Once a caller is blocked, you won’t receive notifications when they call or send a message, but they won’t be able to know they’ve been blocked and will still be able to leave voicemails. You can view and unblock callers at any time:

• Open Settings, Phoneand press Blocked contacts.
• Open Settings, FaceTimeand press Blocked contacts below Calls.
• Open Settings, Messagesand press Blocked contacts below SMS/MMS.

Filtering unknown callers and senders

Unfortunately, blocking individual numbers is not very effective when telemarketers or scammers contact you because they use multiple numbers and change them frequently. But you can do something else:

• Open Settings, Phoneand scroll down to tap Silence unknown callers. When you enable this feature, it automatically cuts calls from numbers not saved in your contacts. They can still leave a voicemail and the calls will appear in your recent calls list.
• You can do the same thing for messages by going to Settings, Messagesand scroll down to enable Filter unknown senders.

If you open a message that turns out to be spam, always press the button Report spam link under the message then Delete and report junk files.

How to Block Calls and Texts on Android Phone

It’s also easy to block numbers on an Android phone, but the method differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.

• On a standard Android device, like Google’s Pixel phones, open the Phone app and tap the button Recent tongue. Long press the number you want to block and tap Block/report spam. You can choose whether or not to uncheck the box marked Report call as spam then press Block.
• On a Samsung phone, open the Phone app and go to Recenttap the number you want to block, then select the Information and tap Block.

Filtering unknown callers and senders

If you receive a lot of unwanted calls and messages and the numbers keep changing, you may want to filter unknown numbers.

• Open the Phone app and tap the three vertical points at the top right, then Settings, Blocked numbersand activate Unknown (Or Block unknown callers on a Samsung phone).
• You can also enable caller ID and spam protection. Open the Phone app and tap the three vertical points at the top right, then Settingsthen tap Caller ID and spam to get options for View caller ID and spam And Filter unwanted calls. (You can simply enable Caller ID and spam protection on a Samsung phone.)
• If you have a Google Pixel, try call screening to have Google Assistant answer for you and generate a transcript. To try it, open the Phone app and tap the button three vertical points at the top right, then Settings, Call screenand choose the desired voice. If you have the spam filter enabled, it should automatically filter your calls, but you can also press Call screen when a call comes in.
• Open the Messages app and tap the button three vertical points at the top right, then Settings, Spam protectionand activate Enable spam protection.

How to block calls or texts with your carrier

Major carriers offer apps that can help you recognize unwanted numbers and block their calls or messages.

• AT&T offers the ActiveArmor application. The basic version is free and offers spam and scam call blocking, nuisance call alerts and unknown call blocking. The Plus version costs $4 per month per line and adds caller ID, reverse number lookup and additional controls on nuisance calls.
• Verizon has a similar app called Call Filter. It offers spam detection and filtering, a whitelist option for iOS, and a neighborhood spoofing filter. The Plus version costs $3 per month for one line or $8 per month for three or more lines, and adds caller ID, spam scanning, a risk meter and a personal block list.
• T-Mobile offers the free Scam Shield app, which offers caller ID, scam detection and blocking, and even a proxy number you can use when you don’t want to share your real number.
• Google Fi offers various blocking and caller ID options in the Google Fi app for free.
• American cell phone features the Call Guardian app offering caller ID, spam alerts and spam reporting. The Premium version, at $4 per month, offers enhanced alerts, caller ID and automatic call blocking.

You can also report spam messages to your carrier for free by send them to 7726.

What about third-party apps?

There are countless Android and iOS apps claiming to offer spam protection and robocall blocking, but we advise caution if you’re considering using one. For these apps to work properly, you need to grant them access to your call logs and contacts. While apps like RoboKiller ($5 per month) or Nomorobo ($2 per month) are legitimate, there are many unscrupulous apps that may share or sell your data or not keep it secure. Do some homework before trying a third-party app and keep their business model and privacy policy in mind.