How many calls have you gotten from the IRS claiming you have back taxes or penalties that will result in jail time if you don’t make a payment? Or what about a niece or nephew who is in jail and needs money wired right away, even in the form of a gift card?!? The number one complaint to the FTC is robocalling and spammers who bilk hundreds of millions of dollars out of unsuspecting consumers who answer their phones expecting a loved one. The FTC is slow to fight these callers and is even slower in helping prevent these calls from making it to your phone. The Do Not Call Registry might be one of the biggest wastes of taxpayer dollars as over two billion robocalls were made in January alone. If you’re tired of this and you own an iPhone, there is a way to prevent a large majority of these calls from ever making it to your phone. These tools work on any iPhone running iOS10 and above and works with Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
Here’s how to use third-party apps to stop unwanted robocallers and spammers
Download at least one app from the App Store that is designed to identify spammers
Our top choices are:
- Mr. Number Call Block & Look Up (link or you can click on the install button below)
- Truecaller (link)
I suggest you install both call blocking apps. Why? Each company, Hiya and Truecaller establish a database of spammers and robocallers that might vary. Having both gives you a much larger database to pool from. After downloading and installing, you’ll need to sign into both by providing your phone number where you will have to enter a verification code sent over text. While Truecaller asks for a name and email address, you don’t have to provide either if you want no extra emails. Mr. Number Call Block won’t ask you to register with your name or emailso you’ll only need to provide your phone number.
Once both apps are installed, you will need to enable Detect and block calls with third-party apps on your iPhone.
Set up an app to filter and detect spam calls
- Go to Settings > Phone.
- Tap Call Blocking & Identification.
3. Under Allow These Apps To Block Calls And Provide Caller ID, turn the app on or off. You can also reorder the apps based on priority. Just tap Edit and then drag the apps in the order you want them.
The next time you receive a call, your device checks the caller’s number and compares it to the list of phone numbers in the third-party spam apps. If there’s a match, iOS displays the identifying label chosen by the app, for example Spam or Telemarketing. If the app determines that a phone number is spam, it may choose to block the phone call automatically. Incoming calls are never sent to third-party developers.
If you determine that a number is from a spam caller, you can block the number manually on your device. Phone numbers that you manually block appear under Blocked Contacts.
This is a great tool to install on anyone who is more vulnerable to suspicious activity like the elderly or children.