Spam calls are a pain, but we have solutions to help you keep them at a minimum.
Register your phone number with the national Do Not Call Registry
Call 1-888-382-1222 or 1-866-290-4236 on TTY, or register online at https://www.donotcall.gov/.
Not sure if you've done this already? No worries, you can also verify the registration on the website.
Block offending numbers
If you're getting calls from particular numbers nonstop, you can block the number from calling you further.
On iOS
Go to the Phone app and select the number you want to block, either from your "Recents" list, or from Contacts, Favorites, or Voicemail, and tap the information icon next to the number
Scroll and tap Block this Caller, and confirm when prompted
On Android
Go to your Phone app and navigate to your Recents tab. You can also search for a contact you want to block from the Contacts app.
Long-press the phone number or tap the information icon and tap "Block/Report Spam", and confirm when prompted
Turn off incoming calls from unknown callers
If you are receiving a high volume of spam calls from lots of different phone numbers, your best option might be to block all unknown numbers.
On iPhone, callers not in your contact list will still appear on your recent calls list but will be sent straight to voicemail (so you will still get appointment reminders from your dentist if they are in your Contacts list!). On Android, this will block contacts that are listed as "unknown", so numbers not on your contact list will still come through if they are not categorized as such.
Here's how to do it:
On iOS
Go to Settings > Phone
Scroll down and tap Silence Unknown Callers
Toggle on the feature
On Android
Open the Phone app and go to Settings > Blocked numbers
Tap the toggle switch next to "Unknown" or "Block calls from unknown numbers"
These tips should keep your spam calls down so you only need to reach for the phone when it's someone you want or need to hear from.