Spam calls didn't use to be this bad, but somewhere in the last few years they crossed a line from annoying into genuinely disruptive. Most people download a third-party app, pay a monthly fee, or just ignore every number they don't recognize. However, a solution is already right in your phone.
How I Deal With Robocalls Without Changing My Number
Robocalls are a persistent nuisance, but you can block them without changing your number.
Your phone already has a spam filter
You don't need a third-party app, just your dialer
If you sign up for anything and use your phone number, you're going to get spam calls. They're going to use tricks, and won't always show up as "Scam Likely." It's just part of how the world works now. That is very annoying, but instead of trying to find other apps that steal your information, you should be using the built-in tools.
Start by opening your regular phone app; this is going to be the one where you dial numbers to make calls. Look for the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Tap those, then pick Settings from the dropdown. This takes you into your call settings, where you'll find a Caller ID and spam protection option powered by Hiya.
Tap the text label itself to open the full settings menu. The first time you do this, you'll be asked to agree to the terms of service before anything activates.
Once you're inside the Caller ID and spam protection menu, you can choose between two filtering options. Block all spam and scam calls, which cast a wide net to catch telemarketers, robocallers, and automated surveys. However, if you donate to charities or want calls from places like that, you may not like this option due to its severity.
The "Only block high-risk scam calls" option is a lot lighter. This lets standard telemarketing calls through while stopping confirmed scams, fraud attempts, and malicious impersonators. Pick whichever fits your needs, and that's it. Your phone goes from wide open to well-protected without ever touching the app store.
Hiya runs in the background, looking at call patterns to catch scammers before your phone even rings. Because it's built into the OS instead of running as a separate app, it doesn't drain your battery or slow anything down.
Just keep in mind that activating the filter is only the first step, since you also need to tweak the settings to meet your needs.
The bigger carriers all tend to remove this option entirely in favor of their own. You cannot get it back if this happens, and it generally is the case if you buy it directly from their stores, which most people have. This isn't an issue; it's just a separate method.
- Verizon: Go to Call Filter, press Block, and then choose Spam & Category Filters. From there, flip on the Spam Filter Switch. You can pick your risk level from here.
- AT&T: Open ActiveArmor and let it do the security scan. Then tap Call & Texts, and you can find Spam Calls in the Call Routing Settings.
- T-Mobile: Go to the T-Life app, tap Manage, then Scam Shield. Then press Scam Block.
For T-Mobile, you can also turn this on quickly by dialing #662# from the phone's calling menu.
The filter isn't perfect
Sometimes it will block calls you actually need
Aggressive spam protection is a relief for a little while, but it can block legitimate calls, too. I've missed calls from medical offices and billing departments because of this. It is likely because they use high-volume enterprise dialing systems that, to a spam filter, look almost identical to robocallers.
They dial fast, keep calls short, and sometimes have a main office number instead of a direct line. These can be seen as sketchy behaviors that raise the same red flags as those of actual scammers. When your phone is set to block everything suspicious, it silently drops these calls before you even hear a ring. This means you might never know someone was trying to reach you.
Make it a habit to check your blocked call history. Samsung's dialer doesn't show these by default, but it's easy to turn on. Open your Phone app, go to the Recents tab at the bottom, tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and pick Show blocked calls.
Blocked calls will then appear in your regular call history with a small icon so you can tell them apart. If you spot a legitimate number that got flagged, just tap it, hit Send Feedback, and mark it as not spam. It is a lot like checking the junk folder in your email. This won't get flagged again if you make sure to send that feedback.
If you miss important automated calls too often, you may need to adjust the filter settings instead of just checking the history later. Only block high-risk scam calls doesn't sound as serious, but it gets the job done.
There are a few ways apps get hold of your number
You need to stop letting everyone have your number
That takes care of unwanted callers, but there's another side to this worth checking. If you constantly give out your number, scammers will eventually get through. Most of the time, it happens through data brokers. These companies collect and sell personal information scraped from public records, loyalty programs, online forms, and apps with too many permissions.
When you sign up for a store rewards card, enter a sweepstakes, or download a free app that asks for more access than it needs, your number is often bundled and sold to marketing lists. Also, many apps ask for permissions they do not need.
Apps on your phone may have access to your call history, and it's worth seeing exactly who's been given that permission. To find out, back out of the dialer, open your main Settings app, and go to Security and privacy. From there, tap Privacy and open the Permission manager. This is where Android lets you see which apps have access to what.
Inside the Permission manager, tap on Call logs. You'll get a full list of every app that's currently allowed to read or write your call history. The worst ones, which really don't need this kind of permission, are apps like Facebook and Instagram. WhatsApp was on my list before I uninstalled it, but that one makes more sense.
Apps usually do this to help you find contacts, but it also means they can see who you've been calling and when. To cut that off, tap each app's name and switch its permission to Don't allow. Once you do, Android will block any future attempts by those apps to read your call logs entirely.
Be careful about what you sign up for; never enter your real number on sites you don't fully trust, and consider using a free Google Voice number as a decoy for signups. That way, spam stays in one place, and your real number stays clean.
Everyone wants your number these days
Unfortunately, we'll never be in a place where spam and scam callers just give up. Too many of their tricks work, and that's why they continue. However, as the scammers have gotten better, so have the tools to fight them. Learning how to use this tool means you can finally stop dealing with constant calls.
