How to Block Spam Calls

Want to know how to block spam calls? We think it’s good for your health. 

Spam calls go hand in hand with having a cell phone. In 2015 The Guardian reported that ‘An estimated 8bn spam phone calls are made each year.’

 

There’s a part of me that realises there’s a place and purpose for telemarketers. The compassionate side of me puts myself in the shoes of the person across the line that has to make these cold calls and deal with rejection and anger all day. It can’t feel good but everyone needs a job so they can make money to survive and telemarketing is a legitimate job.

 

Then there’s the everyday practical side of me. I’m at my desk, stressed, and entrenched in a deadline when my phone rings. I have to answer it, because it could be important, right?

 

TM: (telemarketer) “How are you?”

 

Me: (the polite me) “Fine and you?”

 

TM: “Good, thanks for asking?”

 

TM: “I’m calling from x and we’d like to thank you for being a loyal customer and offer you x/ All our calls are recorded for…”

 

Me: “Sorry to cut you off but I’m really not interested, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thank you for calling and have a great day.”

 

I appreciate when the person on the other end respects my words and says thanks and goodbye because we get to have a decent respectful exchange. But, more often than not they don’t.

 

I had every intention of continuing on with my method until one day I got a call from someone trying to sell me life insurance. I tried to end the call politely but the person on the other end wasn’t having it. When I said I wasn’t interested the marketer decided to introduce fear tactics into their sales pitch. They used crime statistics of our country to try and scare me into purchasing their products and I was irate. I hung up and told all my closest friends how infuriated I was.

[bctt tweet=”@Truecaller is a FREE number search and spam identification app available for ios, android and windows” username=”nutreats”]

My one friend immediately told me about Truecaller. Truecaller is a FREE number search and spam identification app which you can download to your phone. I found it in the apple store but it is available for windows and android too.

 

“Truecaller was born out of this basic human need to get accurate access to information on those you want to contact, as well as information on sources you want to avoid, so you can always connect with who you want, when you want, and block yourself from unwanted calls.”

 

It was created in 2009 by Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam. They were looking for a better solution to look up phone numbers for the missed calls they received from family members living abroad. They wanted to connect all the white and yellow pages around the world but the existing directories did not provide good results and some countries didn’t even have directories.

 

Truecaller works on a community base of over 200 million users. Truecaller helps identify cold calls. It gives you the option to block all top spam numbers and lets you report the number to other Truecaller users.

 

It has a whole bunch of added features that I didn’t bother to look at. I just wanted to stop the calls! After downloading it, I was nervous about the prompt asking for asking to my phone book, but their app store page states:

 

“And just so you know…Truecaller respects your right to privacy. Your phonebook is never made searchable or public.”

 

I installed the app and honestly forgot about it until a day I was driving and heard my phone buzzing. (Yes it should have been hidden from my view, more on that another time). I glanced down and saw my screen had a red glow to it with big bold text “identified as spam.” It showed the number and the company identified. I smiled and continued driving.

 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was designated makeup “artist” for my sister’s wedding. I had five faces to paint including the brides with not a lot of time. My phone rang multiple times throughout the day, and it needed to be answered because a wedding = logistics. But the non-important calls? My phone lit up red at least 5 times that day. I didn’t answer, didn’t waste time and didn’t get annoyed.

 

Moral of the story:

 

How to block spam calls?

 

Download an app. There are other apps available and google is working on new spam-blocking features as an extension of Google’s caller ID system, which helps identify businesses not stored in your address book. But, I’ve tried Truecaller and it works. You should be able to decide if you want to take the call.

 

(Truecaller: iOS, Android, Windows)

 

Do you use an app to block spam? Share in the comments.

 

Found this useful? Subscribe to our free newsletter to get 1 email a week with other useful  articles. FYI – We don’t spam 😉