How to Stop Spam Calls

Spam calls are a nuisance economy, and the most effective responses are boring and cumulative rather than heroic.

The fundamentals

Register your number with the National Do Not Call List (Canada) or the equivalent registry in your country. It will not stop scammers, who ignore the law, but it stops legitimate telemarketers and reduces the volume noticeably.

Let unknown numbers go to voicemail

The single most effective habit: if you don't recognise the number, don't answer. A real caller will leave a message or text. Answering a spam call — even for a moment — confirms the number is active and tends to increase future calls.

Use your phone's built-in filtering

Both iPhone and Android now include call screening and silence for unknown callers. On iPhone, find it under Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers. On Android, look under the Phone app's settings for Caller ID and spam protection. These features send suspected spam straight to voicemail.

The third-party blockers

Apps like Truecaller maintain large databases of known spam numbers and can filter them. They work, with the trade-off that they may upload your contacts to their servers — read the privacy terms before installing.

What doesn't work

Arguing with the caller, asking to be 'removed from the list,' or engaging at all. Hang up. Scam calls are not run by people who keep lists.

If it's your own carrier

Some carriers (Rogers, Bell, Telus in Canada) offer free or paid spam-call blocking at the network level. It's worth turning on; the network can often intercept calls before your phone ever rings.