Landlines are almost out of use. To such an extent that when it rings, we experience a certain shock. Most of the time, it is a commercial proposal, usually from a telecommunications company, a financial company, or an insurance company. Mobile phones are also not free from calls that are more annoying than useful. That happens too frequently or at inappropriate times.
Often, no matter how much you indicate to the interlocutor that you do not want to receive more proposals from that company, nothing is achieved. How then to reduce the number of calls or eradicate them? Here are some methods:
Table of Contents
The Robinson list: cutting to the chase
For decades, there has been the option of being part of the free registry of advertising exclusion lists. This prevents us from receiving unwanted advertising in all its forms: telephone, postal mail, email, SMS, and MMS.
From that moment on, only entities to which consent has been given will be able to send advertising, since companies that want to carry out personalized advertising must consult the list.
Of course, you should be careful when accessing or signing up for any service or internet page: do not put a tick in the checkbox that permits using personal data for notifications or advertising.
Google call screening and blocking service
On pure Android phones, Google offers a service called ‘Caller ID & Spam Protection‘. To activate it, you have to open the ‘Telephone’ application, click on the three points in the upper right, there in ‘Settings’, and then in ‘Call ID and spam’. This way you will see the name of the company or service that calls you, as long as it is registered in ‘Google My Business’ or other corporate directories.
There is also the option of filtering possible calls so that the phone does not ring but these numbers appear in the history (with us being able to listen to the voice messages left). If when the phone rings with a call made from an unknown number the message ‘suspected of spam’ or ‘spam’ appears, we can answer the call or block it.
If you have received a spam call on your phone and you do not want them to contact you again, you should enter the ‘Telephone’ application, access ‘Recent calls’, touch the number from which the unwanted call was made, click on ‘ Block/Mark as spam’ and confirm the block.
Blocking a number on an iPhone mobile
On Apple phones, you have to open the phone app, locate the number you want to block, and tap the ‘i’ button. On the screen that appears, choose ‘Block contact’ and confirm.
On mobiles with iOS 13 and later, the ‘Silence unknown phone numbers’ function can be activated, so only calls from those phones with which there has been some type of contact will be able to reach you.
Truecaller
Truecaller is a comprehensive application that includes automated or spam caller IDs. It also offers the option to make instant calls and money transfers.
Call Blocker
This app prevents calls from more than four million phones from all over the world registered as spam; identifies and blocks the 2,000 most dangerous numbers in each country. It gives the option to check a phone number and identify its owner and blocks calls with a hidden or unknown number.
Blocking numbers from a landline
The first step is to talk to the line operator so that they can put this option into operation (don’t forget to ask if it has any additional cost). Once the option has been activated, you have to dial *60 and follow the guidelines on how to block the number. Finally, all you have to do is press # to confirm and add more phones or hang up.
From this moment, when an unwanted caller tries to disturb you, the locked phone will receive a message informing them that your number is not available. Pressing *80 unlocks all phones.
How to block landline anonymous calls
Normally calls from hidden or unknown numbers convey a somewhat unsettling sensation and some people do not answer them, but this is not currently a highly recommended option: many official organizations and health centers tend to appear on the screen as unknown numbers.
If you still want to block them, as long as your line has caller ID, you just have to pick up and dial *77. To reverse the process, press *87 on the device.
Better prevent
The internet does not only seem like an infinite world, it really is. While it provides us with great benefits, such as unlimited access to all kinds of information and entertainment, it also carries risks and dangers for children, adolescents, and ourselves.
To the so-called phishing (fraudulent emails), vishing, and smishing, many other dangers are added, such as cyberbullying or theft of personal data (hacking). Knowing how to act is a plus to navigating safely on the internet.
However, we are used to revealing our privacy with great ease, we share a photo with our location in real-time, we share experiences with strangers or provide sensitive data to unreliable websites. Scammers know what’s going on daily on the internet, and they take advantage of it.
Do not listen, do not call back, do not give your details over the phone to any source, or click on any unknown links. If they call you to notify you of a monetary prize and that they need your bank account, hang up, there is no such prize. The best thing in these cases is to block the number or delete the SMS. Using PhoneHistory may be advisable for checking the identity of an unknown caller or texter.
Although this guide has covered the most important tips and solutions to avoid unwanted calls and spam messages, the most advisable thing is to take care of our privacy, and be suspicious of unknown websites or people who request data that can make us vulnerable to the thousands of scammers that operate on the internet.