How to block spam calls on Android and iPhone (2026)

By Rohan Verma, Editor, Technical & Global

Blocking a spam number in your contacts is easy. Stopping the next number from the same scam operation is the hard part — because they rotate SIMs every few days. The fix is a stack: block the specific number, silence unknown callers, turn on your carrier's spam filter, and reserve your real number for people who need it. Do all four and spam calls drop close to zero within a week.

Block a single number

iPhone: open the Phone app → Recents → tap the (i) next to the number → scroll down → Block this Caller. Blocked numbers show up under Settings → Phone → Blocked Contacts, where you can review and remove them.

Android: open the Phone app → tap the number in Recents → Block / report spam. On stock Android (Pixel, Nothing), you also get a checkbox to auto-report the number to Google's spam database, which improves filtering for every Android user.

Silence unknown callers (the single biggest fix)

Both platforms now let you route every call from a number that isn't in your contacts straight to voicemail. Genuine callers leave a message; scam dialers hang up.

• iPhone: Settings → Apps → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers.
• Android (Pixel): Phone app → three-dot menu → Settings → Caller ID & spam → Filter spam calls. Samsung has an equivalent under Call settings → Block numbers → Block unknown callers.

Trade-off: legitimate calls from delivery drivers, hospitals, and job interviews go to voicemail. Check voicemail once a day and it's a fair trade.

Turn on carrier-level filtering

Your carrier can block scam calls before they ever reach your phone. This is separate from the OS-level blocker and works when your phone is off.

• Jio: log in to My Jio → Settings → DND → set Fully Blocked.
• Airtel: Airtel Thanks app → Manage services → DND, or dial 1909.
• Vi (Vodafone Idea): Vi app → Settings → DND, or SMS START 0to 1909 to block every promotional category.
• US carriers: AT&T ActiveArmor, T-Mobile Scam Shield, and Verizon Call Filter are all free.

Use a secondary lookup app alongside your dialer

Third-party apps (PhoneLookup, community caller-ID) label an incoming call before you answer. That lets you decide whether to pick up without granting the caller a single ring's worth of your attention. Search a number on PhoneLookup the moment you see it — if the community has flagged it, don't pick up.

The two-number trick

Give out your real number only for banking, government, and close contacts. Use a secondary number (a Jio second SIM, a Google Voice number, or a virtual number from a provider like MySecondLine) for e-commerce, food delivery, and one-off signups. When that secondary number gets sold to a spam list — and it will — the blast radius is contained.

What to do when a spam call slips through

1. Don't say "yes" — voice samples are used for automated fraud pipelines.
2. Hang up. Don't press any keys, even to "opt out". Pressing a key confirms the line is live and moves you up their priority list.
3. Block the number.
4. Report it on PhoneLookup so the next person who searches it sees the warning, and file a formal complaint if money was lost.

What doesn't work

Registering on the National DND registry stops legitimate telemarketers but has zero effect on scam operations — they were never compliant to begin with. Apps that promise to "call the scammer back and waste their time" are novelties, not protection. And there's no setting that blocks all international calls without also blocking your relatives abroad; use silence-unknown-callers instead.

Stack the four fixes above and you'll notice the difference within days. When a new number does get through, spend ten seconds on PhoneLookup before you answer.