It’s not your imagination: spam calls and texts are out of control these days. You may be receiving them on a daily basis at this point, and they can range from political campaigning texts asking for your support to straight-up spam calls trying to scam you into giving them your credit card details with bogus offers and claims. Another popular new tactic involves sending smartphone users texts that contain just a few familiar phrases like “Hi, how are you?” Or “I missed our meeting today” that might get you to respond, just to find out who is on the other end of the text.
@nbcwashington Tired of all those spam calls and texts? If you miss the “do not call” list, turns out your iPhone actually has a solution — and it might be even better. News4’s Susan Hogan has the answers to your quick question. (And don’t worry, Android users — we’ll have a video for you too, soon!) iphone android apple spamcalls spamtext block callfilter phonehacks lifehack protip dmv washingtondc dc virginia va maryland md
Even if you consider yourself savvy on your iPhone and aware of scammers’ tricks, it can be tempting to respond to some of these messages — some are just that intriguing or convincing.
You shouldn’t take the bait on these calls and texts. There are ways you can actually silence these intrusive messages and phone calls so that they don’t interrupt your day. Here’s how to stop unwanted phone calls and text messages.
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Silence Spam Texts
They may not be as disruptive as spam calls, but spam texts are just as much of a nuisance. Fortunately, your iPhone has a built-in setting that will help. Go into your iPhone settings and click on Messages. Scroll down until you see a setting called Filter Unknown Senders. Turn this on — it will sort people who aren’t in your contacts into a separate list so that their text messages do not appear in the same place as the messages you actually want to receive.
Silence Spam Phone Calls
There’s even a setting within your iPhone to help curb the number of scam phone calls you receive. Go into Settings and scroll down to select Phone. Tap on “Silence Unknown Callers.” Toggle this on to send any calls that are not in your contacts, recent calls, or Siri Suggestions to voicemail. This allows you to review these callers and their messages at a time when it’s most convenient for you, so that you aren’t disturbed during the day.
