Unwanted calls are the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) top complaint from consumers in the United States, and estimates say that fraud through robocalls alone costs $13.5 billion annually.
Luckily for you, government agencies, carriers, and private software developers alike rose to meet this growing concern over the past few years, leaving us with a myriad of viable options for combatting these illegal, scam incoming calls.
Whether you aim to protect your information from online scammers or your priority is maintaining your privacy, there are steps you can take to block, screen, and report unwanted telemarketing calls.
How To Block All Numbers
Most modern mobile devices have built-in features that allow you to whitelist the phone numbers you want to call, thereby blocking or screening any unknown callers.
You can set your phone to restrict calls from all unapproved sources on many Android and iOS devices.
Android Phones
Some Android users can block unknown callers outright through the following steps:
Access your Phone app.
Find and select the options menu within the Phone app.
Click the menu tab for blocked numbers.
Set your phone to block all unknown numbers.
Once this is done, all unknown numbers should be barred from calling your phone number.
iOS and iPhones
iOS takes a slightly different approach which it has implemented since iOS 13. You can set your iOS devices to silence all unknown callers instead of outright blocking them.
Calls still show up on your phone, but they are sent to voicemail for you to check on. The steps for this are as follow:
Open your phone settings.
Select your Phone app settings.
Switch on the Silence Unknown Callers option.
This method allows you to check any silenced calls in your recent calls menu and determine the legitimacy of these callers for yourself.
How To Block Numbers By Area Code
The sources of these robocalls can be very resilient, coming back even after you block them with new phone numbers. Sometimes these callers are still restricted to a particular region, meaning that they might share a common area code.
If you receive a disproportionate number of robocalls from a particular area code, find out if your device allows you to block entire area codes. This isn’t possible on a base iOS device without third-party applications, but some Android devices allow this.
Do the following on your Android device:
Open your settings.
In your call settings, create an auto-reject list.
Change match criteria to Starts With and input the area code or country code.
Once you save this list, all numbers beginning with that suffix should be blocked.
How To Block Specific Numbers
In many cases, the source of a problematic robocall can be addressed directly; once you have picked up the phone and identified a robocall, blocking that specific number from reaching you again is a simple process across both Apple and Android devices.
While the user interface will vary depending on what kind of device and OS you are using, the following process should work for you:
Access your recent call history to find the robocall (this also might be a call blocking list).
Select the number and indicate that you want to block that number.
Confirm that you are sure you want to block the number you selected.
These devices also contain a record of the numbers you block, and you can access this record whenever you need to if you want to unblock any of these numbers for any reason.
Do Not Call Registry
What makes dealing with these robocalls so complicated is that they are often unauthorized and illegal attempts to scam you. That being said, this isn’t always the case, and sometimes the people hounding your phone are legitimate (albeit perfectly irritating) telemarketers.
By signing up for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) National Do Not Call List, you can protect yourself from these telemarketers and prevent many American sales companies from contacting your number. The process is simple:
Go to https://www.donotcall.gov/.
Register the number of your choice.
Alternatively, you can call 1-888-382-1222 from the number in question and register that way. It may take up to a month for some telemarketers to update their Do Not Call lists. If an unwanted caller contacts your number more than 31 days after registering for the list, you can report them to the FTC.
Do note that the FTC itself admits that organizations such as debt collectors, political groups, and charities will still have access to your number, in addition to any illegal organizations that already don’t respect the Do Not Call list.
Get A Call Blocking App
If you are up for going beyond the software built into your device, there are a slew of apps designed specifically for maximizing your protection against robocalls. You can search an app store and see what you find, but here are a few well tested and trustworthy options:
Firewall
Most apps use a blacklisting approach, where unknown callers are cross-referenced with databases that track known spam phone numbers and numbers associated with robocalls.
Firewall takes the opposite approach: The whitelisting method. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you permit it to access your contacts and whitelist all known numbers that should be allowed to ring through.
Firewall sends any phone numbers that aren’t whitelisted to voicemail. The app includes voicemail transcription that allows you to read these messages and determine if they came from a source you would like to whitelist.
This ensures that 100% of unwanted calls are blocked, something unachievable through blacklisting alone. Firewall comes with a 14-day free trial, after which you can purchase the app for $3.99 per month.
Nomorobo
Nomorobo is a dependable robocall blocking app with a fun name and intuitive layout. As of October 2021, Nomorobo costs $1.99 per month or $19.99 for a full year of service. All you have to do is:
Download the app and choose a subscription plan.
Enter your phone number and choose either the Identify or Block setting.
Identify means that the calls will go through, but they will be clearly marked as robocalls via caller ID. Block means that these calls will all be sent to voicemail.
If your goal is to block robocalls on a landline, Nomorobo offers that for free. Nomorobo works with VoIP landlines, but not with copper wire landlines.
Hiya
Hiya is another easy-to-use app exclusive to mobile phone users. A stripped-down version of Hiya is available for use for free, but most of the features come with a Hiya Premium subscription for $2.99 per month or 14.99 per year.
Without the subscription, you will access basic caller ID functions, a personal block list, and spam call alerts. Paying the extra money adds an improved caller ID function, automatic spam blocking, and a number lookup function.
Conclusion
Robocalls are a pervasive problem with an overwhelming variety of apps and software trying to combat them. Many mobile devices and carriers have built-in features for blocking unwanted calls. Still, software like Firewall is available for people who want to take that extra step toward mobile privacy.
In addition to blocking robocalls and unwanted calls, Firewall includes SMS spam blocking, voicemail transcription and screening, and the privacy-first you expect from the creators of Burner.
If your goal is to cut down on robocalls and unwanted spam messages, get your Firewall free trial in the iOS app store today.
Sources:
Targeting Gateway Providers to Combat Illegal Robocalls Fifth Further Notice of Proposing Rule | FCC
Detect and block spam phone calls | Apple
Block or unblock a phone number | Google Support
How to block unwanted calls | FCC
Stop robocalls and telemarketers with Nomorobo | Nomorobo
Caller ID, Call Blocker & Protection for a Better Voice Experience | Hiya