If you receive calls on your iPhone that have a “Spam Risk” label, it’s important to know what this means and why it’s happening. This will help you avoid answering telemarketing calls and other unwanted calls in the future.
All three major mobile carriers rely on machine learning analytics engines to generate spam risk warnings. The systems are used by voice service providers, device companies and third-party apps.
What Does It Mean?
If you’ve ever received a call on your iPhone that has the label “Spam Risk,” it means that your mobile carrier is indicating that the call is likely spam. This is a common issue for consumers, and most carriers have their own methods of identifying and preventing scam calls.
Spam caller ID warnings are a key component of the fight against spam calls. They’re powered by machine learning algorithms deployed by voice service providers, device companies and third-party app makers to help users avoid scams before they answer calls.
These algorithms use information gathered from call detail records and other sources to identify suspicious calls and provide these users with a Spam Risk message. Typically, this happens when an unknown number initiates a call on a user’s phone.
In other cases, this may happen when a user reports a caller as spam. Then, the mobile carrier can look into its own databases of suspicious numbers and determine whether they should show up as Spam Risk.
Regardless of where these labels come from, it’s important to know that spam calls can be dangerous. They can be a source of identity theft, and many people end up losing money as a result of answering calls from scammers or other fraudsters.
One of the easiest ways to combat this problem is to turn on the feature that sends all unknown calls to your voicemail. This should reduce your number of unwanted calls, though it won’t remove them from your call history altogether.
Another way to protect yourself is to manually block a particular phone number from calling you. This can be done via your iPhone’s settings.
The process is simple, but it can be a bit confusing at first. Once you’ve blocked a phone number, you should see it appear under Blocked Contacts on your iPhone’s contact list.
You can also choose to silence any unblocked calls from an unknown phone number by changing your iPhone’s call notification settings. You can do this by going to the Phone app and tapping “Silence Unknown Callers.” If you have this feature turned on, any incoming calls from numbers that are not stored in your contacts will automatically be forwarded straight to your voicemail.
Why Is It Happening?
The frequency with which spam calls hit your phone is a problem many of us can relate to. Whether it’s a scammer attempting to steal your money or a robocall announcing an upcoming car or home repair deal, it can be downright demoralizing. The good news is that there are several things you can do to reduce or eliminate the spam onslaught and keep your digits safe and sound.
The best way to do this is by taking a look at your iPhone’s settings and tweaking them a bit. In particular, a quick check of your phone’s “Recents” list will give you the scoop on all things telemarketing. If you’re feeling especially brave, you can even try blocking certain numbers from calling you altogether in the process. It will probably take a little bit of effort and time, but you’ll soon find your smartphone is more fun to use.
How Can I Stop It?
Spam risk is a caller identification label that appears on your iPhone and Android Caller ID screens when you receive an incoming call from someone you don’t recognize. It’s an indication that your mobile carrier has detected the call as spam, and you should ignore it.
Fortunately, you can stop these annoying calls by simply turning off the warning in your phone’s settings and using one of the many third-party apps available for iOS or Android to block any number that doesn’t appear in your Contacts list. Then, any future calls from the mislabeled caller won’t ring and will be silently sent to voicemail.
Another good way to keep your phone from receiving robocalls is to use the Silence Unknown Callers feature on iOS 13 and later (and Android phones with the Google Pixel app). This sends any unknown calls directly to voicemail and silences any ring or notification you get from the caller.
But if you’re still getting calls from spammers even after trying to silence them, you can also try installing an anti-spam caller service. These services are generally priced between a few dollars and a few bucks a month, but they can effectively stop most robocalls before they reach your phone.
These apps use algorithms to identify suspicious numbers and automatically block them before they ring your phone, so it’s important to choose the right one for you. Popular options include Robo Shield and Truecaller, which you can find in the App Store.
You can also turn on your phone’s Messages app to filter and block messages from certain contacts. These features aren’t as effective at blocking phone calls, but they can be useful if you receive unsolicited texts from people you don’t know.
If you have a smartphone with an Apple Watch, you can also use Siri to block calls from mislabeled numbers. This feature can be turned on in the Messages app by selecting a text from someone you don’t recognize, tapping the Send to Siri icon, and then tapping the Block/Report option.
If you have an iPhone, the most reliable method for preventing robocalls is to simply turn off your Caller ID screen’s Spam Risk warnings. However, this isn’t a foolproof solution, and it’s unlikely that you can completely block these calls.
What Should I Do?
If you’re a smartphone user, you may have noticed that your iPhone or Android phone display shows a caller ID label of “Spam Risk” or “Scam Likely” whenever you receive a suspicious or potentially spammy phone call. The message is designed to help you understand what’s going on and take some precautionary steps that can keep you from falling victim to a scam or unwanted calls.
This warning is part of a battle against unsolicited and untargeted phone calls, which have gotten out of hand thanks to automated systems that spoof caller ID information. These calls can be made from numbers that appear to be local or from outside your geographic area.
These numbers often come from telemarketers or other companies with the intention of persuading you to give them access to your personal information. They can be a nuisance and could even lead to identity theft.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to prevent this kind of phone nuisance from occurring on your iOS device. There are a number of ways to do this, including blocking specific phone numbers and using a third-party robocall blocking app.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to block spam calls is to enable a built-in feature on iPhone called Silence Unknown Callers. This will automatically silence incoming calls from unknown numbers and send them straight to voicemail.
To activate this feature on an iPhone, open Settings and scroll down to Phone. Tap the chevron icon (which looks like an expanding section or menu).
Once you’ve selected Silence Unknown Callers, it will be turned green. This will ensure that your phone won’t ring from numbers you don’t know, even if they have been added to your contacts or recent Siri suggestions.
While this may seem like an unnecessary solution, it can save you from a lot of frustration and potentially save you money in the long run. Plus, it can make you feel good knowing that you’re protecting yourself from a slew of robocallers who are looking to exploit your ignorance and get their hands on your money.