7 Ways to Stop Robotic Calls on Android Phones

Robocall is an automated call that uses autodial to connect and deliver pre-recorded messages. The mechanical unresponsive voice makes it easier to identify such calls. You may hear Robocalls in telemarketing, government services, emergency messages, etc.

However, this calling service is also prone to scams. One well-known example of fraud is stock trading. You get a call about xx profitable stocks; they got insider information and asked clients to buy these shares.

Initially, this scam strategy worked well and allowed millions of dollars to be scammed. In 2021, America alone lost about $29 billion due to these scam calls.

In this article, we will discuss different ways to stop or block robocalls and spam calls on your Android smartphone.

Learn how to stop robocalls on your Android device

Your phone starts to vibrate with a caller melody and you see a caller ID with an unknown number on the screen. These calls from unknown sources are in most cases telemarketing or scam calls.

These fraudulent calls include inquiries from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), expiration of your car warranty, insurance claims, and bank account maintenance (card details, OTP, etc.).

Law enforcement agencies and legislators have adopted appropriate regulations to combat these frauds. However, legislation can help citizens avoid fraud. But the active participation of people is also a necessary condition for protecting our privacy from being violated.

If you want to get rid of these troubles and find peace, you should be aware of some counter methods. Several blocking strategies are currently available; Android and Apple smartphones now have a built-in call blocking list.

In addition, there is a national Do Not Call registry where you can register your phone number. Third party apps like Truecaller, RoboKiller and Call Control can also be installed and add an extra line of defense to your privacy.

how to stop robocalls on android device

Reject anonymous/hidden caller ID to block spam calls.
Register your number on the national Do Not Call registry.
Use your telecommunications company’s DND feature to block unwanted calls.
Download and install the best apps from the App Store.
Smartphone brands that automatically block robocalls/spammers
Block individual phone numbers
Set your phone to Do Not Disturb (DND) to turn off unknown callers
Bonus Tips

Reject anonymous/hidden caller ID to block spam calls

In most cases, Robocalls caller ID is displayed as “Hidden”, “Private”or “Unknown”. Both people and telemarketing calls use visible caller IDs. Therefore, if you receive a call with a link to the above keywords displayed on your smartphone, chances are that you have received a Robocall.

You can enable the “Block calls from hidden numbers”setting. Your smartphone will automatically reject calls from hidden and unknown sources.

Tap the gear icon and open the Settings app on your Android smartphone.
Depending on the brand of smartphone, blacklist navigation may differ. But you can type “blacklist”, “block”or “call settings”in the search bar.
Click Blacklist.
Click on the “Blocked call list”option.
Click the gray button next to Block Calls from Hidden Numbers. When the controller is turned on, it will turn blue.

Alternatively, you can install third-party apps like Truecallers or Hiya and turn on the setting to automatically block calls from hidden numbers.

Register your number on the National Call Barring Registry

With scam calls on the rise and massive amounts of money lost every year, legislators have enacted extensive regulations to curb its rise. The National Do Not Call Registry is one result of these rules.

Suppose you register your number in the Do Not Call registry. In this case, you refuse calls from telemarketing or business calls. But you still have the right to receive calls from political groups, campaigns, charities and fundraisers.

Technically the above rules are correct. But this “Do Not Call”registry policy doesn’t stop telemarketers from calling you. The same is true for scammers.

They do not exactly follow government directives. It is still recommended that you register your number on the Do Not Call registry in your country. Registering your number in the registry is better than doing nothing, and it’s free.

Below is a list of countries that have deployed a national DND registry.

Do not call the front desk (Australia).
National Denied Calls List (Canada).
National Register of Consumer Preferences (India)
New Zealand Name Removal Service (New Zealand).
Telephone Preference Service (UK).
National Call Barring Registry (USA).
Do not call the reception (Singapore).
Blocktel (France).

Joining Don’t Call is very simple. For example, if you want to register on the US Do Not Call Registry, go to donotcall.gov and register your smartphone or landline number. Alternatively, you can also call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to register for Do Not Disturb.

In India, if you want to use the NCPR (National Customer Preference Register) service, text “DND”or “0”(depending on the carrier) to 1909 from the number you want to register.

Telco DND feature available to block unwanted calls

All major telcos have Do Not Disturb features for their customers. And the world’s leading telecommunications companies provide tools for identifying caller IDs, filtering and blocking calls suspected of spam. Let’s take a look at some of the call protection services from leading telecommunications companies.

1. AT&T

AT&T, the largest telecommunications provider in the world with over $150 billion in revenue, AT&T provides an app called AT&T Call Protect for Android and iOS platforms. Features provided by AT&T include:

Detect and block spam calls and automated calls.
List potential caller IDs for telemarketing.
Forward contactless calls directly to voicemail.
Custom blacklists.
Accepts user feedback on automated calls that pass through the filter.

Basic AT&T services are provided free of charge. You can also upgrade to AT&T Call Protect Plus for additional features such as reverse lookup of unknown numbers, customizable call screening options, and more.

2. Verizon Communications

Verizon ranks second in terms of revenue. It provides users with a Call Filter application and boasts the ability to identify over 300 million spam calls and scam phone numbers. The features provided by Verizon Communications are similar to those of AT&T and Call Filter upgrades to Call Filter Plus for a small monthly fee.

Download and install the best apps from the App Store

Third party apps are another way to block or identify robocalls (spam). The benefit of third party apps is that they have an advantage in collecting data. For example, if one person receives a spam call, registers the number in the app and lists it as a spam call. Then other users of the application can also receive this reminder whenever they receive a call from the same number.

In addition, the application regularly updates its database. This informs you about the latest scam strategies used by scammers and scammers.

Here are some of the best third-party apps to block Robocalls and spam calls:

Truecaller

Truecaller is available for both Android and iOS smartphones. Truecaller has 300 million monthly active users worldwide. The main features provided by this app are caller id identification, call history, contacts and spam call blockers.

Truecaller automatically blocks calls that are considered spam calls, as well as a blacklist manually added by the user. You can enjoy the main features of Truecaller for free. And a small amount of $2.99 per month is required to use Premium services.

Hiya- Caller ID & Blocking

Hiya is another good alternative to a third-party spam call blocking app. The app provides caller ID protection, call history, number blacklist from calls and messaging, etc.

Another feature of Hiya is a reverse lookup of an unknown phone number. Can it determine if an incoming call is fraudulent or legitimate? In addition, Hiya- Caller Id & block is free with no ads.

call control

Call Control is another free app that you can use to manage your communications. This app comes with basic features like call history and blocked call list to avoid annoying robocalls, scam calls, telemarketing calls, etc.

The Do Not Disturb feature allows you to set a schedule. You are free from external communication, including calls and messaging. It helps block text messages from unknown sources or telemarketers. This allows you to keep your inbox clean and tidy.

Other apps installed on your Android smartphones are CallApp, Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus, Whoscall, Call Blacklist, Mr. Number, Nomorobo, t-mobile Scam Shield app, etc.

Smartphone brands that automatically block robocalls/spammers

Now, smartphone brands have also released models with built-in call security features. This feature prevents unknown calls that are suspected of being robocalls or scam calls.

Some examples of such Android brands are Samsung Galaxy and Note smartphones. Samsun provides a Smart Call feature that automatically checks and makes suspicious numbers.

Google has also released similar built-in features in models like the Pixel and Android One phones. Google Android users may receive a warning if a call is suspected of being spam.

Block individual phone numbers

Suppose you are called by robots from a certain organization or group. In this case, you can try adding the phone number to your smartphone’s blacklist.

And chances are you will receive calls from the same group with a different caller ID. So this solution works best when you are receiving calls from a duplicate caller ID.

Open the Phone app on your Android smartphone.
Press and hold the number you want to block.

Or you can tap the options icons next to the selected number.
Scroll down the options and click Block.

Click “Yes”when prompted “Do you want to block this phone number?”

Alternatively, you can also access the blacklist from the Android settings app.

Open the Settings app with the gear icon.
Navigating the blacklist may vary slightly depending on the brand of smartphone you are using. But you can search for “block”or “blacklist”in the search box.
Turn on the Black List feature. Click on the gray button. When turned on, it will turn blue.

Click on blocked numbers.
You can add the numbers you want to block to the list.

Set your phone to Do Not Disturb (DND) to turn off unknown callers

You can also use the DND (Do Not Disturb) feature on Android smartphones. The Do Not Disturb feature silences all calls, alerts, and notifications. In addition, you can configure which calls or alerts can go through this feature, and only unknown callers.

However, this may only cause the people listed on your phone to go through the Do Not Disturb feature and you miss some calls from outside.

This feature can also be scheduled when you are in an important meeting with your team or client.

Bonus Tips

And finally, there may be a small chance that a call suspected of being spam, or Robocall, will pass through all of the above filters. If so, you may have to rely on experience or common sense to identify them as a scam.

Let’s assume that the voice is unresponsive and gives a mechanical feeling (for example, Microsoft’s voice assistant – Cortana). In this case, it really could be Robocall.
No bank will actively call its client and request his account and card details. Therefore, if you receive a call posing as a bank manager and asking for the above information, flatly reject them as they are scammers.
Do not press numbers on the dial pad if asked to do so. You can only use this feature when you are actively dialing a support number. Pressing the dial pad during a call helps scammers mark their targets, who are more likely to be hooked. And these users may receive more calls in the future.
Always check the area code or country code. There is a possibility that international scammers are targeting you.

Conclusion

Today the whole world is moving into the digital world. Your entire life history is stored in an online database. Along with this comes vulnerabilities such as user privacy compromise and cybercrime.

Scam calls can be considered cybercrime as they are used to steal sensitive information from users, including money data. Fraudulent calls include bot calls, spam calls, and scam calls.

Therefore, it is very important to know how this scam is organized and carried out. Learn to counter these scam calls so that you will never be scammed in the future, or also promote this knowledge to your friends and family.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the best free Robocall call blocking app for Android and iPhone?

Let’s say you use the telecommunications services of major telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications. In this case, you can use AT&T Call Protect, the Verizon Call Filter app. Let’s say you want to use third-party call blocking apps. In this case Truecaller, Hiya-Caller Id & Block, Call Blacklist, Mr. Number, t-mobile Scam Shield and Call Control are some of the best call blocking apps available for Android smartphones.

How do I stop robocalls on my Android for free?

Registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry allows you to block some annoying robocalls. Another free way to stop robocalls is to install third-party call blocking apps like Truecaller, Hiya, Call Control, etc. And thirdly, you can add spam call numbers to your smartphone’s call blacklist every year.

Does blocking robocalls help?

Yes, call blocking can protect your smartphone from robocalls. But you can’t stop all automated calls because robocalls can get through your blacklist with a new number that isn’t on your blacklist.

Is there a free call blocking app?

Hiya: Caller ID & Block and Call Control are two of the best Robocall blocking apps available on the web. Both apps provide similar basic features like call history and blocked call list to avoid annoying robocalls, scam calls, telemarketing calls, etc.