How to Stop Spam Calls to Your Phone Number?

Are you tired of receiving spam calls and texts? If your answer is yes, your phone number is being misused.

You may receive unwanted calls from telemarketers, scammers, and fraudsters. If you mistakenly receive their calls and follow their instructions, you’ll fall into their trap.

You may be susceptible to scams, identity theft, and other online risks if you receive spam calls or robocalls. Although they are dangerous, they can be avoided.

We will discuss in detail how your phone numbers are being misused and how to avoid robocalls and spam texts. By the end of this blog, you will learn to block suspicious calls and texts and report them to your phone carrier. 

What are the different types of spam phone calls?

A spam call is an unsolicited call made to many people from an unknown source. A spam call often attempts to get you to give them money or information.

There are many types of spam calls, including telemarketing, robocalls, spoofing, and IRS and insurance scams.

You’ll receive fewer spam calls if you engage less with spam. If you answer a spam call, your number may be added to a list of numbers that commonly answer, respond to, or fall victim to scams. 

The fraudsters think these are the most likely numbers to provide sensitive information, so they target them more often.

1. Spoofing calls

A spoofing call is one that imitates an organization or a local number. People will receive calls from familiar numbers, which are used for scams and mimicking advertisements.

2. Telemarketing calls

Telemarketing calls are often used by companies and enterprises to promote their products, services, and companies to potential customers. They can be intrusive because they are repeated without the user’s consent.

3. Charity scams

People are receiving fake calls pretending to be from charities asking for donations for causes such as diseases and natural disasters.    

4. Political calls

A political call is a scam that manipulates and betrays the people for political purposes. A pre-recorded message can be used to trick people into voting for them, giving personal information, and making donations. 

5. Reminder calls

Using reminder calls, you can remind yourself of important events, such as meetings and appointments, by customizing the day, time, and location. These calls are misused by scammers to remind victims of their scams and phishing schemes. 

6. Loan scams

Using this robocall, a caller offers loans and credit cards for a small up-front fee to individuals with poor credit scores. Their goal is to get the upfront fee, but they won’t actually make the loans happen. 

7. Travel scams

Calls like this offer low travel and vacation costs; interested parties put in their credit card information, which can result in the loss of information and money. 

8. Customer care scams

In this robocall, a business agent represents high-profile brands or organizations. Various fraudulent activities will be attempted to get your sensitive information and personal information. 

Why do you get Spam Calls?

You are getting spam calls because you might have answered several robocalls, and the spam caller must have gotten the hold of your number and sold it to other scammers or telemarketing companies. 

Be careful, Spammers are always trying to trick recipients into giving up sensitive information or money. They use different techniques to get information from the users, such as credit card numbers, passwords, or personal details.

Let’s know how your number ends up with spammers, and they bombard you with unwanted calls.  

• Your Number is Sold in Scammer Groups

Your number may have been sold to a scammer group if you receive a lot of unwanted calls. When your number is sold, it is used by all scammers to make scam calls.

The fraudulent individuals attempt to deceive you in many ways under the guise of professionals. Some may pose as insurance agents, salesmen, car dealers, technicians, etc.

• Your Number is Public

Businesses should make their contact information available to customers and potential customers. Spam lists are created from publicly available information, such as phone directories, websites, or social media profiles. Personal numbers, however, should remain private. Scammers will exploit them if you list them in the public domain.

These days, there are hundreds of apps that can harvest your data, including your phone number. As a result, the data is usually leaked to scammers when we accept their terms without thinking twice. 

• You May Have Picked Up an Unwanted Call

While scammers are hitting and trying phone numbers to find a victim, you might pick up a call. Scammers also target you because you picked up their call once. You look like a good target, so they call you repeatedly, as it is taken as an invitation.

To increase their chances of engaging you, they may call you from different numbers. You are left alone only when they are certain there is no chance of success.

• Online Forms and Surveys

Whenever you fill out an online form or survey, your contact information can be collected and used for spamming purposes.

How to Stop Spam Calls?

Spam calls are a serious problem, but they can be avoided. There are different methods to protect yourself from robocalls. To avoid them, follow the points below

1. Register Your Phone Number With The Do Not Call Registry

The US government maintains a Do Not Call registry that contains telephone numbers of individuals who have requested that telemarketers not contact them. You can block telemarketing calls with it.  

To register your number, follow the given steps:

1. Visit their website, donotcall.gov.
2. Simply click Register.
3. Up to 3 numbers can be registered; enter them.
4. Enter your email address and verify it.
5. Submit your information after verifying it
6. You will receive a confirmation email in your inbox. Click the link in it to confirm your registration.

Note: Registering your phone number with the Do Not Call registry will not fully block Spam Calls. Do Not Call registries can be bypassed by some scammers.

2. Caller ID and Spam Identification

Caller ID and spam identification features are common on many modern phones. When available, Caller ID displays the name and number of the person or business calling. When you answer the phone, you can identify who is calling.

Various methods are used to identify spam calls. The number can be analyzed against known spam databases, algorithms can detect spam-like behavior or user reports can be used.

Steps to enable Caller ID and Spam Identification

How to Enable Caller ID & Spam Identification On Android?

1. Open the Phone app on your device.
2. Select More options > Settings > Spam and Call Screen.
3. Activate or deactivate See caller & spam ID.
4. Optional: Turn on “Filter spam calls” to block spam calls. You won’t get missed calls or voicemails, but filtered calls are in your call history.

How to Enable Caller ID & Spam Identification On iPhone?

You can filter unknown callers and avoid spam calls. Here’s how you can set up a filter: 

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap on Phone
3. Tap Silence, Unknown Callers,
4. Turn it on

3. Call Blocking

If you block their phone number, you can stop them from calling and texting you. There are only a few steps to follow:

For iPhone 

1. Open the Phone app > Recents > Select the number > Tap the info icon > Block this Caller.

2. Open the Messages app > tap the message/conversation> tap sender > info > Block this Caller.

For Android

1. Tap Phone > Recents > Choose number > Long press the number/tap Icon > Report spam/Block.

When you block a number, you will also block incoming messages from that number.

Disclaimer: If you want to prevent robocalls and spam text messages, you need to block each number individually. You must block spam calls and robocalls again if they come from a new number.

4. Use third-party apps

Robocalls and spam calls can be reduced by using third-party apps. Callers are not completely blocked, but spam calls and messages are detected and filtered before reaching your phone. 

Third-party software distinguishes between human and robot calls by using audio fingerprint technologies, community-based spam identification, and call transcripts. A caller’s ID and details of incoming calls are also provided.  

There are various apps that can help you to reduce robocalls and spam texts. You can research the best call-blocking and spam detection app and download it to your phone to prevent yourself from robocalling and spam messages. Some of the popular call-blocking apps are Truecaller, Hiya, Nomorobo, YouMail, RoboKiller, T-Mobile Scam Shield, and more.

5. Report spam calls and spam texts

You can report the number to the authorities if you get frequent annoying texts and call messages. Here are the different ways to report robocalls and spam texts.

1. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at  ReportFraud.ftc.gov if you are receiving such calls or messages.
2. You should report the number and message to the carrier of your phone number.
3. Forward the spam text message to 7726. The message will be detected and blocked by your carrier in the future. 

How to Stop Getting Spam Calls to Your Landlines?

Almost all landline providers do not offer spam-blocking services, so you will have to manually block them. It is ineffective to block spam calls manually because numbers can only be blocked after they have been received.

One of the profound methods is to register your phone number on the Do Not Call registry, Anti Spam Software, and to block the number, you simply need to dial the code *60# and the number you wish to block. 

Tips to Prevent Your Number from Getting into Spam Callers

Spam and robocalls are problematic. If you don’t know how to avoid them, they can cause a lot of damage. You should be aware of these activities and avoid them. The following tips can help you avoid phone scams.

• Don’t answer unknown callers: Pay attention to calls from unknown numbers and avoid them. Don’t fall for their words even if you answer their calls. Based on the information provided during the call, perform research and learn about the company’s reputation.
• Don’t fall for it: Be careful not to give your personal information or make digital payments. It is a trick to steal your information if you reply or click the links of the texts related to financial information. Also, do not answer questions with yes or no answers
• Hang up robocalls: When you get a robocall that delivers pre-recorded messages, end the call and block the number.  
• Avoid and ignore unknown prizes: Do not fall for lottery, prize, or job offers. It is possible to steal money and personal information from you by winning unneeded prizes and winning the lottery.
• Report Spam Calls: Inform the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and your phone provider if you receive spam calls.
• Call Blocking: Block the number and any incoming texts from the number if you receive annoying spam calls or have suspicions.
• Protecting Privacy Online: Keep your information private while accessing different websites and applications, or use a separate phone number for online accounts to minimize spam calls. 
• Stay up-to-date on scams and spam call-blocking trends.

If you are a victim of this scam, you need to change your passwords and financial accounts immediately. To report a loss of finances, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

What Can You Do if Spam Callers Already Have Your Virtual Phone Number?

If the spammers already have your virtual phone number, you can follow the given steps to avoid spam calls. 

• Change the number: You can eliminate all spam from your virtual number by simply getting a new number. You cannot do this if your established business number has been with you for years. Unless you haven’t used it for a long time, or it’s not the number people call to reach you, you can remove it. Replacing the number will likely solve the spam problem immediately as soon as you register it.

• Add a Call Menu or Auto Attendant: Using an auto attendant to protect against solicitation bots is one of the most common reasons for people to want an auto attendant service. They cannot reach an actual phone by calling an auto attendant since they must press a number to ring someone’s phone, which they cannot do.

• DNC Registry: Putting your virtual phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry is something you should do with any number you own as a precaution: https://www.donotcall.gov/

• Create a list of blocked phone numbers: When you get a number that attracts spammers and solicitations, you’re often faced with an ongoing battle to manage unwanted calls. Your call history may need to be manually blocked if your problem is extensive. The problem is that this may need to be done continuously.

• Contact Your Provider: If you are receiving excessive harassing calls, you can contact your virtual phone service provider for assistance with escalating the issue. Once you’ve exhausted all your options to solve the spam issue on your own, that might be the best course of action.

How Can KrispCall Help You Stop Getting Spam Calls?

KrispCall can help you stop getting spam calls by giving you a virtual phone number with advanced security features.  It provides advanced security features such as call blocking, IVR, and call monitoring to block spam calls. You can also use KrispCall’s virtual number as your secondary phone number since your phone number is part of your personal information.

Switching your phone number to a virtual phone number with KrispCall will help you reduce spam calls. You can enable automatic call blocking, blacklist and whitelist numbers, and spam call reporting tools for reposting spam calls and numbers. KrispCall has an auto-attendant and IVR feature that requires the caller to press a number to reach the owner, which is not possible with robocalls. 

Conclusion

Spam calls can be extremely frustrating and disruptive to our daily lives.  

Use call-blocking apps, register your phone number on the Do Not Call Registry, and be cautious when sharing your number online. Spam calls must be dealt with effectively. They can waste our time and energy, as well as be used for fraudulent activities and scams.

If you are thinking of getting a phone number, virtual phone numbers with KrispCall. You can filter your callers, set up IVR, and get all the advanced security features for blocking spam calls. Krisp Call is trusted by more than 4500+ global companies, and you get to choose numbers from 100+ countries.

Arun Chaudhary

Arun is SEO Analyst at KrispCall. He has written in extensively in the field of cloud telephony and call center solutions.