Silence scam calls on iPhone and Android
Your phone can quietly filter most scam calls before they ever ring. Here's how to turn it on. It takes about five minutes.
Before you start: add your doctors, pharmacy, and anyone else who calls you to your contacts. These settings treat unsaved numbers as strangers.
One catch: a hospital, home health aide, new doctor's office, or pharmacy may call from a number you haven't saved. If you choose to silence unknown callers, those calls won't ring. Whatever you choose below, check your voicemail every day.
iPhone: open the Phone app, tap Contacts, tap the plus sign (+), type the name and number, and tap Done.
Android: open the Phone app, tap Contacts, tap the plus sign (+) or Create contact, type the name and number, and tap Save.
Don't see an option? Phones move their menus around after updates. Open Settings and type the name of the setting into the search bar at the top. (On an iPhone, if you don't see a search bar, swipe down a little in the middle of the Settings screen.)
iPhone
- Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Phone.
- Find Screen Unknown Callers and pick one:
- Ask Reason for Calling: your iPhone answers unknown numbers, asks who's calling and why, then shows you the answer so you can decide. Best for most people.
- Silence: unknown calls go straight to voicemail without ringing. You may miss important calls from new numbers, so check voicemail often.
- Never: all calls ring normally.
- While you're there, tap Call Filtering and turn on Spam Filter. Suspected spam goes to a separate list you can check anytime.
Don't see Screen Unknown Callers? Your iPhone has an older version. Open Settings, tap Phone, and turn on Silence Unknown Callers instead.
Samsung Galaxy
- Open the Phone app, tap the three dots in the corner, then Settings.
- Tap Caller ID and spam protection and turn it on. Tap Agree to the terms.
- Turn on Block spam and scam calls, then choose Block all spam and scam calls.
Google Pixel and other Android phones
- Open the Phone app, tap your profile picture or the three dots, then Settings.
- Tap Caller ID & spam and turn on Filter spam calls.
- On Pixel phones, also look for Call Screen in the same settings. It answers suspicious calls for you, much like the iPhone option above.
One more habit
If a call makes it through and something feels off, hang up and call back using a number you already know. Your bank, Medicare, and your family will never mind.
Sources: Apple Support, Samsung Support. Menu names vary slightly by phone model and carrier.
