- Preventing Unauthorized People from Using Your Mobile Device
- Taking Advantage of Parental Controls
- Adjusting the App-Specific Privacy Settings on Your Mobile Device
- Keeping Your Mobile Device's Operating System and Apps Up to Date
- Managing Your Mobile Device's Wireless Connections
- Blocking and Managing Unwanted Calls to Your Smartphone
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Blocking and Managing Unwanted Calls to Your Smartphone
Your cell phone may already tell you if it suspects an incoming call is spam. You can also use an app—such as AT&T Call Protect, Robo Call Blocker – Roblock, Robokiller, and Truecaller—that intercepts all incoming calls and informs you if the caller is a telemarketer, bill collector, or fundraiser, or if the call is originating from a known robo-dialer.
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You can adjust the settings of these apps to automatically block unwanted calls from a specific phone number so your phone does not even ring when you receive one of these calls.
By not speaking with telemarketers, you’re more apt to avoid becoming a victim of a scam, identity theft, or fraud. One common scam is when a telemarketer calls you and says he’s from Microsoft or Apple, and that there’s a problem with your computer. The caller convinces you to give him remote access to your computer to fix the problem, when actually he’s either planning to upload a virus or malware to your computer, or access your personal data that’s stored on your computer (including things like your online banking password).
If you receive one of these calls, hang up! Don’t provide any personal information whatsoever, and never grant a stranger remote access to your computer unless you’ve initiated contact with a technical support representative that you know is legitimate.
Block Specific Incoming Calls on Your iPhone
The Phone app on your iPhone has tools for manually blocking calls from specific phone numbers. When you receive a call from a telemarketer, follow these steps to block calls from that number in the future:
Launch the Phone app and tap the Recents icon.
Look for the listing for the incoming call, and tap the (i) icon next to that call.
From the Call Information screen, tap the Block This Caller option. In the future, any calls from that phone number will be prevented from reaching you.
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Block Specific Incoming Calls on an Android Smartphone
The Phone app on your Android-based smartphone has tools for blocking calls from specific phone numbers. When you receive a call from a telemarketer, follow these steps to block future calls from that number:
Launch the Phone app. (Not shown.)
Tap the Logs option.
Locate the incoming call that originated from the phone number you want to block in the future, and tap its listing.
From the Call Information screen, tap the menu icon (the three vertical dots in the upper-right corner of the screen).
Tap the Add to Auto Reject List. In the future, any calls from that phone number will be prevented from reaching you.
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