How to Stop Spam Calls on iPhone and Android (Free Tools)

Takes about 15 minutes. Free. Do Step 1 today, then the steps for your phone (Step 2, 3 or 4), then Steps 5 to 7.

Menu names below match current iPhone, Pixel and Samsung Galaxy software. On older software, or other Android brands, a setting may be named a little differently or sit on another screen. If you don't see something, search for it with the search bar at the top of Settings, or update your phone.

1. Change how you answer (this one's free and instant)

• Don't answer calls from numbers you don't know. Let them go to voicemail. If it's important, the caller can leave a message.
• If you pick up a robocall, just hang up. Don't press a number to "talk to a person" or "be removed from the list," and don't call back. Pressing a number could lead to more robocalls.
• Don't trust the caller ID. Scammers fake (spoof) numbers, including ones that look local or look like they come from a government agency. If a call claims to be from a company or government agency, hang up and call back using the number on your statement, card or the official website.
• Hang up on anyone who asks for money or personal info like your Social Security number, account numbers or passwords.
• Set a strong voicemail password, so no one else can get into your messages.

2. iPhone: screen, silence and filter spam calls

Screen or silence calls from unknown numbers:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Phone.
2. Under Call Screening, pick one:
   • Ask Reason for Calling: your iPhone answers calls from unknown numbers for you and asks who's calling and why. Your phone rings only after the caller answers, and it shows you their response so you can decide whether to pick up.
   • Silence: calls from numbers that aren't saved in your contacts are silenced and sent to voicemail. They still show up in your Recents list.

Our read: Ask Reason for Calling is the best fit for most people, because a doctor's office or delivery driver can still get through. Silence is stronger, but it also silences legitimate callers who aren't in your contacts, so check voicemail often if you choose it.

Filter spam and unknown callers (same screen, Settings > Apps > Phone):

• Turn on Spam. Calls your carrier flags as potential spam or fraud are silenced, sent to voicemail and moved to a separate Spam list.
• Turn on Unknown Callers if you also want calls from unknown numbers moved out of Recents and into an Unknown Callers list.

To see those lists, open the Phone app, tap Calls (or Recents in the classic layout), tap the menu button, then tap Unknown Callers or Spam. If a real caller lands there, tap Mark as Known next to the call so future calls from that number go through.

Turn on caller ID help: Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification, then turn on Business Call Identification. If you've installed a supported caller ID app, turn it on there too.

Block a number that keeps calling:

1. Open the Phone app and go to Recents (or Calls).
2. Tap the number (in the classic layout, tap the Info button next to it).
3. Tap Block Caller, then confirm.

Blocked callers can still leave a voicemail, but you won't be notified. The caller isn't told they've been blocked. Blocking a number on iPhone also blocks its messages and FaceTime calls. To review or undo blocks, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Blocked Contacts.

Filter spam texts: open Messages, tap the menu button at the top of the conversation list > Manage Filtering. Spam filtering is on by default; check that it still is. Turn on Screen Unknown Senders to move texts from people who aren't in your contacts into their own Unknown Senders folder. If you rely on texts like verification codes, tap Allow Notifications and turn on the categories you want. To report a spam text, swipe left on it in the conversation list, tap the report button, then tap Delete and Report Spam. Or open the message, tap Report Spam under it, then tap Delete and Report Spam. Reporting doesn't block the sender, so block them too.

3. Google Pixel and the Google Phone app: Call Screen and spam filter

Call Screen (Pixel): Call Screen answers calls for you and asks who's calling and why, so you can see a live transcript before you decide to pick up.

1. Open the Phone app > More (three dots) > Settings.
2. Tap Spam and Call Screen (on some phones it's Call Screen), then Call Screen.
3. On Pixel 7 and later, set how to handle Spam, Possibly faked numbers and First-time callers. You can pick a protection level, such as Maximum, Medium or Basic. On Pixel 6 and earlier, look for Unknown call settings.

Automatic Call Screen is available on Pixel phones in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK. You can also screen calls by hand: when an unknown number calls, tap Screen call. Manual Call Screen is available on Pixel in more countries, and on some other Android phones in the US and Canada. Save the numbers of people you want to hear from in Contacts so their calls aren't screened.

Spam filter (Google Phone app on other Android phones):

1. Open the Phone app > More options > Settings > Caller ID and spam.
2. Make sure See caller ID & spam is on, then turn on Filter spam calls. You won't get missed-call or voicemail notifications for suspected spam calls, but they still appear in your call history.

If your phone has automatic Call Screen, you may not see Filter spam calls, because Call Screen handles it.

Block or report a number: open the Phone app > Home, tap the call, then tap Block or Report spam. On some versions, go to More > Call history, tap the call, then tap Block / report spam. Saw a real call marked as spam by mistake? Tap it and choose Not spam.

Block and report spam texts (Google Messages): touch and hold the conversation, tap Block, check Report spam, then tap OK. Or open the conversation and tap More options > Details > Block & report spam > OK. Spam goes to the Spam & blocked folder.

4. Samsung Galaxy: Caller ID and spam protection

1. Open the Phone app > More options (three dots) > Settings.
2. Tap Caller ID and spam protection, turn it on, and tap Agree if asked.
3. Tap Block spam and scam calls, then choose Block all spam and scam calls or Only block high-risk scam calls.

Samsung calls this feature Smart Call. It may not be available on every carrier or model.

Block unknown and specific numbers: in the Phone app, tap More options > Settings > Block numbers.

• Turn on Block calls from unknown numbers to block calls from numbers that aren't saved in your contacts or identified by Smart Call. That's a strong setting: it also blocks a new doctor's office or delivery driver, so save important numbers first.
• To block one number, type it and tap Add (the plus sign), or pick it from the Recents, Message or Contacts tab.

You can also block straight from your call log: open Recents, tap the number, then tap Menu > Block and confirm. During or right after a spam call, tap Block/Report number at the bottom of the call screen.

5. Turn on your carrier's free spam blocker

Your carrier can flag or block spam before it reaches your phone. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all include free spam protection for eligible customers. Here's how to turn it on.

• AT&T: ActiveArmor. Free with AT&T wireless plans. It blocks fraud calls and can block spam calls or send them to voicemail. Download the AT&T ActiveArmor app (iOS 16.4 or later, Android 10 or later), then go to the Calls tab > Call Routing to set how fraud, spam and private callers are handled. You can also block or send to voicemail specific categories, like telemarketers, political calls or surveys. Turn on Always allow contacts so people in your contacts get through. Keep your voicemail box set up; ActiveArmor sends some calls there.
• Verizon: Call Filter. Free for standard monthly and prepaid plans with a compatible phone. It includes spam detection, a spam filter that sends high-risk spam calls to voicemail, a spam and blocked call log, and a way to report spam numbers. Manage it in the Verizon Protect app (preloaded on most Android phones; otherwise download it from the App Store or Google Play; needs Android 10 or iOS 16.6 or later). If your phone isn't compatible, check Products & plan perks in My Verizon.
• T-Mobile: ScamShield. Free for T-Mobile customers with qualifying service and a capable phone. It labels suspected scam calls as Scam Likely, lets you turn on Scam Block to block them, flags possible spam and lets you send it to voicemail, and lets you block specific numbers. Manage it in the T-Life app. You can also turn on Scam Block by dialing #662# from your T-Mobile phone, or in My T-Mobile or the T-Mobile app. Scam Block might also block a call you want.

On another carrier? Check your carrier's website or app for free call-blocking or call-labeling features.

6. Forward spam texts to 7726

Most US carriers let you forward spam texts to 7726 (it spells SPAM on a phone keypad). Check with your carrier if you're not sure yours does. Forwarding helps your carrier spot and block similar messages in the future.

1. Copy the spam text, or touch and hold it and choose Forward (the option name varies by phone).
2. Send it to 7726.
3. Then report and block the sender in your messaging app (Steps 2 to 4).

Don't tap links in spam texts, and don't respond to texts from numbers you don't recognize. On iPhone, Report Spam may also send the report to your carrier, depending on your carrier and country. In Google Messages, a spam report may send your carrier a copy of the number and the latest message.

7. Join the Do Not Call Registry and report the calls you still get

Register your number (free): go to DoNotCall.gov and add your number. You can add up to three numbers at a time online, and cell phones count. You'll get an email with a link; click it within 72 hours to finish. Your number shows up on the registry the next day, but it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. Registration doesn't expire.

Know what it does and doesn't do: the registry stops legitimate telemarketers. It doesn't stop scammers, who ignore it, and it doesn't cover political calls, charities, debt collectors, surveys or purely informational calls. Companies you've recently done business with may still call; ask them directly to stop.

Report the calls you still get:

• Didn't lose money: report the call at DoNotCall.gov.
• Lost money or shared personal info: report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Include your phone number, the number on your caller ID (even if you think it's faked), any number they told you to call back, and the date and time of the call. Each business day, the FTC releases reported numbers to help phone companies and other partners working on call blocking and call labeling.