How to recognize spam or scam calls on your phone

Telephone spam, i.e. unauthorized commercial calls, It is one of the most annoying practices for users. And sometimes it is even worse, because behind them there is an intention to deceive us. In this post we will see how to recognize spam or scam calls on your phone.

When our cell phone rings and a number appears on the screen that is not among our contacts, it is almost impossible know if it is a commercial number or notThese commercial calls are insistent and occur at any time of the day, causing inconvenience. But of course, stopping all calls from numbers we don't know or don't have registered is not an option. What can we do?

Since 2023, in Spain this type of advertising is regulated by a law which establishes the right "not to receive unwanted calls for commercial communication purposes, unless there is prior consent from the user" (sic). The fines faced by companies that violate this regulation are over 100.000 euros. And yet, thousands of them continue to occur every day.

Methods to avoid spam calls

Fortunately, we are not completely defenseless against this situation. acoso telefónico at all hours. As this is a global problem (it does not only happen in our country), the two main mobile operating systems, Android and iOS, have implemented some tools for users to block these types of calls.

Bloqueo de números en Android

When we have just received a spam call on our Android phone, it is advisable to block the number from which it was made. This will ensure that we will not be bothered again, at least from that number. Here is what we should do:

1. First we go to the Phone app.
2. Then we press the icon with the three vertical dots to open the Settings menu.
3. Once there, we go to the tab Call and spam filter, where we can activate different functions with our preferences. For example:
   • Activar o desactivar la función «View caller ID and spam».
   • Activate the option «Filtrar llamadas de spam», which allows us to stop receiving notifications of missed calls and voice messages, although these calls will continue to appear in the history.

Blocking numbers on iOS

Apple does not have any specific feature to detect unauthorized commercial calls or spam calls. In this case, it is up to the user to mark the numbers that they have identified as spam. To perform this type of blocking, you just need to go to the number in question and press "i".

Another useful resource is to activate the option «Silence unknown numbers» from the iPhone Settings menu. This will silence calls from numbers that are not registered: all spam calls, but also others that are not registered.

The danger of telephone scams

Spam calls are annoying and irritating, but the real danger lies in the scam attempts over the phone that occur daily. Scammers use deceptive tactics and highly sophisticated methods to trick us into stealing our personal or financial information, as well as committing all kinds of fraud.

Por desgracia, the creativity and talent of scammers, as well as the good faith of the victim, often make these scams successful. The scammers, very convincing, pretend to be technicians from a supply company, bank employees, civil servants, members of an NGO... Anything to obtain the information they want from us: bank account or credit card numbers, passwords to access internet services, keys to our service. banca online, etc.

Cómo evitar estafas telefónicas

Here are some basic tips to protect yourself from these scam threats (which also apply to spam calls):

• Never share confidential information over the phone, especially if we are not the ones who made the call.
• It is advisable to verify the identity of the person who calls us with the company or entity on whose behalf you claim to be calling us.
• Hang at the slightest suspicion that someone is trying to trick us.

In the end, it is simply a matter of aplicar el sentido común: be suspicious when the person on the other end of the telephone line insists too much on us providing certain information or tries to coerce us with false threats, or when they offer us deals and gifts that are too good to be true. Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method to stay safe from scams., but always being cautious and a little suspicious can save us a lot of problems.

Of course, if we believe that we have been the victim of a telephone scam or are sure that someone has tried to deceive us, we should immediately contact our bank. And, of course, report to the competent authorities.