If you're getting spam calls multiple times a day, you probably know the feeling: the constant ringing, the unfamiliar numbers, the calls that keep coming even after you've blocked them.
You can ignore them but then you have to wonder whether the next unknown number might actually be someone important. So every time the phone rings, you have to stop and decide: Should I answer this? Is it real? That constant interruption and uncertainty can quietly rob you of your peace of mind.
The good news is, you don't have to simply put up with it. Here a few simple things you can do to reduce your exposure to these calls.
7 simple and practical things you can do today:
1. Turn on your call filter
Turn on the call filter in your phone settings. It takes two minutes. Unknown numbers go straight to voicemail. Real callers leave a message.
Even better, set a filter that screens out calls that are not in your contact list so you don't have to answer those.
If you don't know how to do this, keep reading, there is a simple (and free) walkthrough guide at the end.
2. Watch the number, not just the contact name
Scammers use cheap tools to fake a number. They can make it show your bank, your town, even your own number. Landline caller ID can lie too. Ask your cable company to show caller ID on your TV. You'll see it clearly from the couch.
3. Keep your voicemail short and plain
Skip your name. Use an automated voice if you can. Your voice on a recording is a free sample for scammers. AI can clone a voice from a few seconds of audio.
4. Set a family password for emergencies
Pick a word only your family knows. Write it on paper. Keep it at home on sticky notes around the house. Never put it online. Use it for any emergency call about money or a hospital visit.
5. Check before you believe "my phone broke"
Someone calls saying they're your kid with a new number. Write the new number down. Then call your kid's real number. A real emergency survives that check.
6. Freeze your credit
Call Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Or use their websites. A freeze stops anyone from opening a loan or card in your name. You can unfreeze it in minutes when you need to.
This might not be the easiest thing to practically do (like finding the right number to call), keep reading, a simple and free walk through guide for this.
7. Use two emails
One email is for money stuff. Bank, social security, tax insurance.
The other one is for everything else, shopping online, newsletters, loyalty cards. Any message about your money coming to the second email is fake. Simple.
Scam calls start with your details being sold online.
Run a scan nowSee how data gets leaked into data broker sites by daily habits.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL
If you remember one thing from this whole list, remember this:
Medicare, Social Security, the IRS, and the Courts will never call you. Ever.
Your bank almost never calls you either. A real call from your bank never asks you to move money or share a code. They never need your six-digit code. Not ever.
DEALING WITH IT
The simplest move: don't answer calls from numbers you don't know.
But sometimes you answer anyway. Or a stranger reaches you another way. Here's what to do in these cases,
Check the email address, not just the name of the sender
"Microsoft Support" can come from micro-soft.com. Or from a random Gmail account. One wrong letter means it's fake. Don't click the link. Type the real website in yourself.
Never share your screen
Not with tech support. Not with your bank. Not with anyone who called you first.
Remember: a video call or a crying voice isn't proof anymore
AI can fake photos and video now too. Deepfake video calls are behind more romance scams every year. If money comes up, use your family password.
A crying voice isn't proof either. The FBI counted over 3,100 complaints from older adults about AI voice scams in 2025. Always call the family member back on a number you already know. A real emergency survives a callback.
Fewer scam calls starts with fewer places selling your number.
Run a scan nowSee how data gets leaked into data broker sites by daily habits.
COMMON TYPES OF SCAMS
Before we go into this, a quick word on my personal experience that led me to build this
I worked in finance most of my life. At the time, my uncle was working in IT at a major company in Texas. He got close to being scammed. Not just once but a couple of times.
I was amazed. I always thought (and still do) he was well above average in intelligence and tech competence. More importantly, he was in the IT department (!). His team dealt with hackers all day long.
If he got close to getting cooked, what were the chances for the average citizen?
And one can just open a newspaper to know that these things can be life devastating. In 2023 Americans over 60 lost $3.1 billion to cyber fraud in a single year, 84% up from the previous year, nine times higher than 5 years before. I can't imagine what it is, in 2026. It definitely feels the number of spam calls we receive has increased more than five fold versus 3-4 years ago.
With that thought, and more time at hand, I decided to put together this and share best practices for free.
Back at it.
6 common types of scams:
1. "Move your money to keep it safe" is a scam
Banks catch fraud on their own. They never need your help to do it. Your bank will never ask you to send money to a "safe account." If you send it, a scammer gets it.
2. You never pay to collect a prize
Real prizes don't charge fees upfront. If someone asks you to pay first, it's a scam. You haven't won anything.
3. Recovery offers are a second scam
Someone offers to get your lost money back, for a fee. Older adults lost $540 million to these scams in 2025.
4. Unpaid tolls and missed packages
You get a text about an unpaid toll or a missed package. Don't click the link. Delete the text. If you want to check, type the real website into your browser yourself.
5. QR codes can lie too
A QR code can send you to a fake website. Don't scan codes you didn't ask for. Type the web address in yourself instead.
SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE AND REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SCAM CALLS YOU GET.
1) Courses
AARP offers free online courses on this topic. The biggest problem however is that government content just do not adapt as fast as AI and scammers do. You can use it as a foundation. Spot-the-scams-drills are far more effective to stay up to date in my opinion. More on that below.
2) Keep your antivirus updated.
This is not a full protection but it's fixing the basics
3) Practice spotting scams
Staying sharp matters as much as staying informed. Big companies run "spot the scam" drills. Their tech team sends a fake email or text. You have to catch it and report it. I was average at it. Here's the one that got me twice:
Your request for travel expense reimbursement last month has not been approved. Click here to see the details.
I immediately clicked because not getting a travel expense reimbursement "triggered me". So I clicked without thinking, without checking the email address of the sender but just the contact name. Keep reading, more on this on how to do this later after the quiz together with the walkthrough guides.
Remembering to "follow the rules" when something feels urgent or when something triggers you goes against our most basic instincts.
The tricks are learnable. So is getting your details off the lists.
Run a scan nowSee how data gets leaked into data broker sites by daily habits.
4) The most interesting one
You think staying alert is enough, and probably given you read until here you are more aware than most and probably already doing some of the stuff we talked about. Good for you.
The issue however is that knowing "not to answer numbers you don't know" is not enough.
There will be a time when you were expecting a specific call and so you answer - and they just need to catch you then.
Given the number of spam calls we all receive, "falling for it" is more a matter of statistics than anything else.
There is one thing that changes the odds though. And it is quite simple because it reduces the amount of calls you get daily.
Delete your data from data broker sites.
This is the most underrated yet most effective. Why? Because it changes the odds.
First, what are data broker sites: they're companies that collect your personal details. Your name. Your address. Your phone number. Even your relatives' names.
They don't ask you first but they don't hack you for it either. They just pull it from public records, store rewards forms, warranty cards, shopping accounts and much more traces we leave online.
A few examples: Epsilon, Free People Directory, Lead Me Media, OpenPeopleSearch.
Scam centers buy them and then use it to call you. You didn't hand it over to them but unfortunately that's how it works.
The good news is that you CAN remove your data from those sites.
When you remove data from your site over time the number of scam calls you get will decrease dramatically. You still need to be alert, you will just be annoyed less by the continuous calls.
You can do it yourself but it is a bit slow and potentially tricky but you can do it. Alternatively we built a service that automatically scans your information on data broker sites and manually removes it - you click a button our team (and one day our software) will do this for you. It will not cover 100% of data broker sites but a good amount, enough to make the number of calls you receive each month decrease.
See how data gets leaked into data broker sites by daily habits.
PS: at the end you will also find:
Walkthrough guide to set filters in your phone settings Download PDF Walkthrough guide to freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Download PDFOur spot-the-scam drills to keep you up to date