The iPhone setting that stops annoying scam calls
Some 31% of calls not from someone in a personal contact list are identified as nuisance calls, with an additional 4% being fraudsters, according to anti-spam company Hiya's Global Call Threat report 2025.
The most common form of scams are those impersonating HMRC, although others such as crypto investment or Amazon scams are also widespread, Hiya statistics show.
Last week, for example, people were warned to be on high alert for scams linked to winter fuel payments after HMRC received 15,100 reports of bogus activity in June. It said it has had to remove 4,600 fake websites linked to the payments.
Amazon shoppers were also warned about sophisticated AI scams using automated calls to target bargain-hunters during Prime Day.
So, if you're constantly being hassled by scammers, there's a hidden iPhone setting that can make life easier.
You can opt to send all unknown and spam callers direct to voicemail, and also opt to silence all unknown callers.
This has the effect of making scam callers hang up as they usually want to speak to users direct.
Users can also quickly check iPhone's voicemail-to-text for any messages from legitimate callers.
To send all unknown callers to voicemail, go to the main iPhone 'Settings' app.
Then select Apps > Phone.
Then choose Silence Unknown Callers – this means that anyone who calls bar people in your contacts list, people you have recently called, and numbers which have popped up in the AI-powered Siri Suggestions will go directly to voice mail.
You will not hear or be notified about the call, but can go to Visual Voicemail to read messages from callers you may have missed.
You will not see a notification, but any missed calls will still be recorded in your missed calls.
There are various ways Android users can screen calls, although these vary by device.
Go to Settings > Caller ID and spam.
You can then select Filter spam calls or Block spam calls.
As with the iPhone, you'll be able to see any missed calls in your call history.
On Samsung devices, select Phone > Settings > Caller ID and spam protection to activate their blocking service, powered by Hiya.
Some UK phone carriers also have opt-in services to automatically block spam and scam callers – call your carrier or check their website to see if they offer this service.
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