My phone rang four times during dinner last Tuesday. All robocalls. Extended car warranty. Medicare enrollment. A “final notice” about a package I never ordered. I have been on the Do Not Call list for years. It does nothing. These callers are not legitimate telemarketers — they are scammers using autodialers and spoofed numbers. The Do Not Call registry cannot stop them because they operate outside the law entirely.

There are better tools now. Some are free. All of them work better than just blocking numbers one at a time.

Your carrier’s free spam filter

All three major US carriers have free robocall blocking. You just have to turn it on:

• AT&T: Download the ActiveArmor app and enable spam blocking. There is a free tier.
• T-Mobile: Dial #662# to enable Scam Shield. The free version blocks likely scams automatically.
• Verizon: Use the Call Filter app. The free version flags suspected spam on your screen.

These carrier-level filters catch maybe sixty percent of robocalls. It is not perfect but it cuts the volume noticeably.

The nuclear option: silence unknown callers

On iPhone: Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers. On Android: Phone app → Settings → Blocked Numbers → Block calls from unknown callers. Any number not in your contacts goes straight to voicemail. If it is a real person, they leave a message and you call back. Scammers rarely leave voicemails, and when they do, it is the same robotic voice you have heard a hundred times.

The downside: delivery drivers, doctor’s offices, and anyone calling from a number you have not saved will go to voicemail. If you are expecting an important call from an unknown number, turn it off temporarily.

Spam texts: the same approach, different button

Do not reply “STOP” to spam texts. That confirms your number is active and you will get more spam. Instead, forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) — this is the industry spam reporting number, run by the wireless carriers collectively. Then block the sender and delete the message. It takes ten seconds and helps the carriers blacklist the sender for everyone.

On iPhone, you can also enable “Filter Unknown Senders” in Messages settings. Unknown senders go to a separate tab and you never get notified about them.

After enabling Silence Unknown Callers, my phone went from five to eight robocalls a day to maybe two a week — and they all go to voicemail. I check my voicemail once a day now instead of being interrupted constantly. The peace is worth the occasional missed call.