Your iPhone is a great device, but it can also be a target for scammers, spammers, and phishers. They may try to steal your personal information or even your financial information. Fortunately, there are several ways you can protect yourself from these threats. We want to show you how to block scam calls, spam messages, and phishing emails on your iPhone. The chances of you being exposed to one of these hacking tricks are probably high. And protecting yourself is quite easy. What we’ll show you is just another level of protection you can add to help beef up the security of your devices.
Let’s be real, spam calls are out of control. Back in the day, anything with a caller ID of “unknown caller” or a distant or free area code could be ignored. Today, thanks to an automated system that disguises phone numbers, scammers and spammers can call you from numbers that appear to be in your neighborhood. Many people receive multiple spam calls a day. If you have a business phone, it’s even worse. One time I counted over 50 spam calls in one day. They’re just not going away.
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Why Are Spam Calls On The Rise?
Spam calls are becoming more and more common, but why? There are a few reasons for the surge in unsolicited calls. For one, phone spam is cheaper than email spam. It only costs a few cents to send out thousands of automated calls and there’s no need to worry about bounced messages or spam filters. Additionally, caller ID spoofing makes it easy for scammers to disguise themselves as someone you know or a trusted organization. This can be especially effective if they use a local area code or a number that looks similar to your own. The advancement of artificial intelligence has made it possible for scammers to create realistic-sounding automated calls that are difficult to distinguish from a real person. Finally, another reason why they are on the rise is because we fall for these spam calls! If they didn’t work, companies and spammers wouldn’t use them. Period.
Spot Scams And Fraud Calls, Emails, And Text Messages
Spotting scams, fraud calls, emails, and text messages can be tricky. Sometimes they can look very legitimate. However, there are a few things that you can watch out for to help keep yourself safe. It is essential to recognize scammers and their different techniques to trick us. Here are some popular methods:
- Deceptive emails and other messages that appear to come from legitimate companies, including Apple and Google
- Misleading pop-ups and ads disguised as Apple Support
- Fraudulent phone calls or voice emails indicating security issues on the device
- Fake promotions offering free products and prices
- Unsolicited calendar invitations and subscriptions
How To Mute Unknown Callers
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t want to answer calls from unknown numbers. Unfortunately, there’s no way to automatically mute unknown callers on the iPhone. However, there are a few ways to make it more difficult for unwanted callers to reach you.
- First, open the settings. Then tap Phone.
- Scroll down and tap Mute Unknown Callers.
- You will see a description of the feature and a switch to turn it on on the next page when you turn on this feature.
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iPhone uses Siri Intelligence to determine if the call is from a known number. If you find your phone number in a contact, message, email, or recent outbound call, you will receive it as usual.
If you can’t find it there, whether it’s an actual phone number or a private number, it will be sent directly to your voicemail without ringing (even quietly). This reduces unnecessary calls, but you may miss some of the expected calls. This happens to me from time to time and it is annoying, especially if you want to talk to the “unknown caller”. For example, let’s say you contact a repair person on the Internet for help on your vehicle. You get sent to voicemail and leave a message. If they were to call you back (and their number wasn’t saved in your contacts), the return call would be silenced and sent straight to voicemail. Again…if you are expecting a call from an “unknown caller”, you can easily be frustrated with this feature. In the future, we hope Apple’s AI can reconcile this in the next iOS update. If you don’t want to send these calls directly to voicemail, you can easily disable this feature by turning the switch back off.
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Spam Filtering Applications
You can do more than send a call to voicemail without being noticed. A phone spam filter app can effectively eliminate most spam calls you receive, even if they come from a unique fake number. You need to download the apps from the App Store. Popular options include Robo Shield, Truecaller, and Robokiller. These apps usually have a subscription fee, but they may be worth a few dollars a month to stay safe.
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Block Numbers
In some cases, you want to block incoming numbers entirely and there is a way to do that. Tap the circled “i” info button next to the number and scroll down to “Block Caller”. Then, on the next screen, tap Block contacts. If you want to unblock blocked numbers, go to Settings> Phones and Blocked Contacts. You will see all the numbers you have blocked in it. You can delete any number by tapping [Edit] on the upper right, pressing the red (-) minus button, and then pressing [Unblock].
Bottom line: It’s On You To Secure Your Devices
Scams and fraud calls and messages are very common these days. It is important to use extreme caution for your safety. There’s no shortage of scams on the internet and it’s super important to be responsible and protect yourself from them. One way to do this is to be aware of the most common scams out there. Do a little research. We’re trying to help and we promise to stay on top of all the latest hacks and cybersecurity threats we can find. For example, be aware of phishing scams. These are legitimate criminals sending emails that look like they’re from a legitimate company in an attempt to get your personal information. Another common scam is malware, which is software that’s designed to damage your computer or steal your data. And then there’s ransomware, which is a type of malware that locks you out of your own computer until you pay a ransom. These threats are real and I personally know individuals and devices that have been affected by these nefarious hacks. These are just a few of the many scams out there, so it’s important to do your research and be aware of what to look for. There are also plenty of scams that hit your phone, so it’s important to be equally vigilant when it comes to your mobile device. Be smart and stay safe out there!
