How to Block Spam Calls on iPhone and Android

Spam calls are the worst thing that could happen. At least spam callers were never a problem in the past. Someone will always try to lend you money or give you a credit card. Or, even worse, they've been trying to reach you about extending your car's warranty. Even though these telemarketers are annoying, people who try to scam you are much more dangerous. Things are getting very out of hand. If you get too many sales calls or calls from people you don't want to talk to, it's easy to block them. Both the iPhone and the Android have built-in ways to block contacts and phone numbers. Here's how to block spam calls on iPhone and Android.

How to Block Spam Calls on iPhone

Block the Caller

Spam callers always try to trick you by calling from a different number, so you can't always block them. But you also shouldn't give up on this choice completely. When you keep getting spam calls from the same number on your iPhone, blocking them can be the fastest and most reliable way to stop them.

1. Open the Phone app and go to the bottom of the screen to the "Recents" tab.

2. Next to the number you want to block, tap the i button.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page with your contact information and tap "Block this caller."

4. The screen will show a message asking for confirmation. To confirm, tap Block Contact.

By going to Phone settings, you can change who you've blocked.

Related: How to block a number on iPhone.

Silence Unknown Callers

You can also block calls from people you don't know if you have an iPhone. Even though this might seem extreme to some, it can stop almost all unknown callers from talking. When this option is turned on, calls from people you don't know will go straight to your voicemail and the iPhone will not ring. You can also look at them in your Recents list.

You can still get calls from people on your list of contacts and call numbers you don't know. Also, Siri's suggestion that incoming calls on the iPhone be muted does not work. Siri's smarts check to see if a contact is in your mail or messages, and it can also tell if a number is unknown.

1. Open your iPhone's Settings app.

2. Scroll down and tap on Phone.

3. Tap the Silence Unknown Callers button.

4. Turn on the switch for Mute Unknown Callers.

If iOS thinks the phone number is unknown, which means it can't find it in your contacts, mail, messages, or most recent outgoing calls, it will turn off the ring without even ringing your phone. If this choice is too bad, move on to the next one.

Call Blocking and Identification

Right next to "Silence Unknown Callers" is the "Call Blocking and Identification" feature. For some users, this setting is the best way to stop spam calls from coming in.

Some carriers' Call Blocking and Identification feature has an option to "Silence Junk Callers."

Enabling Silence Junk Callers blocks calls that your phone company thinks might be spam or fraud. If you have this option, you can just turn it on and you'll be fine.

But what about people whose carriers don't support this feature? Still, there is a chance. Call Blocking and Call ID can also be used with some third-party apps.

Some apps, such as Hiya, Truecaller, and Robokiller, can find and block spam calls. Some sites let you use the feature for free, while others charge you to use it. Robokiller even tricks spammers by answering their calls with nonsense messages that have already been recorded. If you get either of these apps, the "Call Blocking and Identification" setting will get an extra feature.

Calls from spammers are just annoying. There's no way around it. But you don't have to listen to their calls. On an iPhone, there are several ways to get rid of unwanted callers.

If you want to contact the person you've blocked, you can unblock that number easily. Here's how to unblock someone on iPhone.

How to Block Spam Calls on Android

Block a Number 

If you keep getting calls from the same few companies or people, you can easily stop them from calling you by blocking their phone numbers. So as to:

1. On your Android, open the Phone app.

2. Find the number you want to block and tap the I button next to it.

3. Go to the end of the page and tap Block.

All done! Keep in mind that the steps can be a little different for each device.

This is a quick and easy solution, but if you get a lot of spam calls from different numbers, it might not be the best. It can be annoying to block a lot of numbers every day. Some spammers also make up phone numbers that look different each time they show up. If that's the case, you should use a dedicated app instead, as explained above.

Block Unknown Callers

How you block a number on an Android phone depends on the phone and the version of the operating system. You should be able to choose Recent Calls or Call History when you open the Phone app. Look for a command that says "block and/or report as spam" after you tap the number you want to block. Make sure the number needs to be blocked.

You can also block all calls from people you don't know on some Android devices. Depending on the device, this is usually done by opening the Phone app and going to the Settings menu. Find and turn on the feature that lets you block numbers. You can also manually type in the numbers you want to block.