In July 2026, robocalls reached American phones at a rate of about 1,612 every second, according to the YouMail Robocall Index. That added up to about 4.3 billion calls in one month, or roughly 139.3 million a day.
It was the highest monthly total in a year, though YouMail notes that robocall activity still runs well below its historic peaks. Texts have surged too. In December 2023, Americans received an estimated 19.2 billion spam texts in that single month, according to RoboKiller.
If it feels like your phone will not stop buzzing, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone. Here is the part that matters most. You do not need to buy anything or call a technician to fight back.
Both iPhones and Android phones have free, built in tools that can filter out a lot of this noise. I will walk you through each setting, step by step.
Why Your Phone Keeps Ringing and Buzzing
Let us start by understanding what you are up against, because that makes the fixes easier to trust. Scammers and telemarketers no longer dial by hand. They use computers that place thousands of calls at once.
The Federal Trade Commission describes a robocall simply. If you pick up the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, that is a robocall. If the recording is trying to sell you something and you never gave written permission, it is almost always illegal.
These calls are big business. In July 2026, scams made up about 27 percent of all robocalls, according to YouMail. The single most common campaign that month was a pre approved loan offer, which YouMail describes as illegal telemarketing at the very least and likely a scam based on consumer reports.
That one campaign generated more than 40 million calls by itself. Many of these calls use a trick called spoofing, which makes the number on your screen look local or familiar even though it is not.
That is why blocking one number rarely helps for long. The scammer simply switches to a new fake number tomorrow. Knowing this, the smartest approach is not to chase individual numbers.
It is to turn on a filter that quietly handles many of them at once. That is exactly what your phone can do.
The iPhone Settings That Quiet Calls
If you have an iPhone, you have strong tools, and the exact path depends on your software version. On iPhones running iOS 17 or earlier, open Settings, tap Phone, scroll to Silence Unknown Callers, and switch it on.
Starting with iOS 18, Apple tucked these controls under a new Apps menu, so you open Settings, tap Apps, tap Phone, then turn on Silence Unknown Callers. Either way, calls from numbers not in your contacts are sent to voicemail instead of ringing.
It is not a perfect net. Apple still lets through some numbers you recently called out to, along with numbers Siri finds in your email, so a few unknown calls may still ring.
Each call appears in your Recents list so you can check it later. If your iPhone runs the newer iOS 26 software, the path is the same, Settings, Apps, then Phone, but the switch is now called Screen Unknown Callers.
You can choose Silence, which sends unknown callers to voicemail, or Ask Reason for Calling, which politely asks a stranger why they are calling before your phone ever rings. One caution.
If your doctor or pharmacy calls from a number you have not saved, that call may be silenced too, so add the numbers you care about to your contacts and check voicemail once a day. To block one number, open it in Recents, tap the small letter i, and tap Block this Caller.
The Android Settings That Filter Spam
Android phones have free filters too, but the steps vary by brand, so do not worry if your screen looks a little different. If you use the Phone by Google app, open it, tap the three dots, choose Settings, then Caller ID and spam, and turn on See caller and spam ID.
Many phones also show an option called Filter spam calls, which sends flagged robocalls quietly to voicemail. Here is a note from Google. Pixel phones and some others that have the automatic Call Screen feature do not show a separate Filter spam calls switch, because screening is handled inside Call Screen instead.
If you own a Samsung phone, open the Phone app, tap the three dots, choose Settings, and look for Caller ID and spam protection, then turn it on. Samsung powers this with a service called Hiya, and whether you see it can depend on your phone model and your carrier.
To report a junk call on phones that offer it, open your call history, press and hold the number, and tap Block or report spam. Reporting helps the system warn other people.
If you are unsure which app you have, ask a family member to glance at your screen.
Let Your Phone Company Help
Beyond your phone's own settings, your wireless carrier offers a second layer that can stop or label calls before your phone rings. The three largest carriers each provide free scam blocking tools, though the names, labels, and exact behavior differ.
AT&T offers ActiveArmor. Verizon offers Call Filter. T-Mobile offers Scam Shield. Each can flag or block calls its network judges to be scams, but they do not all use the same wording or route calls the same way.
T-Mobile, for example, labels suspect calls as Scam Likely and can stop them at the network level once you turn on Scam Block. T-Mobile also gives you more than one way to switch it on.
Current guidance puts Scam Shield inside the T-Life app, where you tap Manage, choose Scam Shield, and turn on Scam Block. Or you can simply dial pound 662 pound, which looks like #662#, right on your keypad, and you will get a confirmation.
Dial #632# to turn it off, or #787# to check the status. The Federal Communications Commission keeps a free guide to these tools at fcc.gov. Using your phone filter and your carrier filter together gives you a stronger defense.
There is no shame in layering your protection. That is simply being careful.
Handling the Flood of Spam Texts
Text message scams have grown fast, and they deserve special care. The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost 470 million dollars to scams that started with a text in 2024, more than five times the level in 2020.
Common fakes include package delivery alerts, bank fraud warnings, toll road notices, and messages pretending to be from Amazon or Apple. One scam the FTC warned about in April 2026 sends a text about a traffic violation with a QR code to scan and pay a fine.
Do not scan it. Follow three safe habits. First, never reply STOP to a suspicious text, because that only confirms your number is active and invites more. Second, forward the spam to 7726, which spells SPAM on the keypad, to report it to your carrier for free.
Third, delete it. To filter texts automatically, iPhone users on iOS 17 or earlier open Settings, tap Messages, and turn on Filter Unknown Senders. On iOS 18 that switch moved under the new Apps menu, so you open Settings, tap Apps, tap Messages, then turn it on.
On iOS 26 it is called Screen Unknown Senders, under Settings, Apps, then Messages. In the Google Messages app on Android, tap your profile picture, choose Messages settings, open Protection and Safety, tap Spam and scam protection, and pick Standard or the newer Enhanced protection, which Google began rolling out in late 2026.
When in doubt, call the company using a number you already trust.
What These Scams Cost Older Adults
The reason I care so much is simple. These calls and texts are the front door for fraud. The Federal Trade Commission's report titled Protecting Older Consumers 2025 to 2026, sent to Congress on October 19, 2026, found that adults age 60 and older reported losing more than 3 billion dollars to fraud in 2025, up from about 600 million dollars in 2020.
Losses tied to text scams grew fastest, rising 61 percent to 296 million dollars, and the report said the median text loss climbed 60 percent to 2,500 dollars. There is some encouraging news in the same report.
About 74 percent of the fraud reports filed by older adults involved no money lost at all. These are reports people chose to file, so the share cannot tell us what happens to everyone who is targeted, and it does not prove why.
Still, it is a reminder that recognizing a scam and hanging up or deleting the message is common. Scammers count on surprise and urgency. When you expect their tactics and let your filters do their job, you take away some of their advantage.
Knowing the numbers is not meant to frighten you.
Simple Daily Habits That Keep You Safe
Settings do most of the work, but a few everyday habits close the remaining gaps. First, let unknown numbers go to voicemail. Many real callers, like your bank or your grandchild, will leave a message or call again, though not every legitimate caller does, so it helps to glance at your missed calls and voicemail each day.
Answering an unknown call simply confirms your number is live and invites more. Second, never call back a number from a missed call you do not recognize. Third, be suspicious of urgency.
Scammers push you to act fast, claiming your account is frozen or a package is stuck. Real companies give you time. Fourth, register your number at donotcall.gov. The registry held 258,515,050 active registrations as of September 30, 2025, according to the FTC.
It will not stop criminals, who ignore the law, but it does cut down legitimate sales calls, which can make the remaining scam calls easier to spot. Finally, if you ever lose money or share personal details, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Reporting helps investigators and protects your neighbors. None of this requires technical skill. It only requires a calm pause and a little practice. You have already learned the hardest part today, which is how the tricks work.
Where to Find the Free Settings on Your Phone
| Device or service | Setting to turn on | Where to find it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone calls (iOS 26) | Screen Unknown Callers | Settings, Apps, then Phone | Silences unknown calls or asks callers their reason |
| iPhone calls (iOS 18) | Silence Unknown Callers | Settings, Apps, then Phone | Sends most unsaved numbers to voicemail |
| iPhone calls (iOS 17 or earlier) | Silence Unknown Callers | Settings, then Phone | Sends most unsaved numbers to voicemail |
| iPhone texts (iOS 18 and 26) | Screen or Filter Unknown Senders | Settings, Apps, then Messages | Separates texts from people not in your contacts |
| Android (Phone by Google) | Filter spam calls, if shown | Phone app, Caller ID and spam | Sends flagged robocalls quietly to voicemail |
| T-Mobile | Scam Block, or dial #662# | T-Life app or keypad | Blocks Scam Likely calls on the network |
If you do only one thing today, turn on your phone's main filter. On an iPhone with iOS 26, open Settings, tap Apps, tap Phone, choose Screen Unknown Callers, and pick Silence or Ask Reason for Calling.
On an iPhone with iOS 18, go to Settings, Apps, then Phone, and turn on Silence Unknown Callers. On an older iPhone with iOS 17 or earlier, that switch sits under Settings and Phone.
On an Android, open the Phone app settings and turn on spam filtering. Remember the heart of all this. Scammers rely on surprise and urgency, so your best weapon is a calm pause.
Let unknown calls go to voicemail, never reply to a strange text, and never feel rushed. You do not have to be an expert to protect yourself. You took a real step today, and that is something to feel good about.
Sources
- YouMail, July 2026 Robocall Index, PR Newswire (2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Older Consumers 2025 to 2026, Report to Congress (2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, National Do Not Call Registry Data Book Fiscal Year 2025 (2025)
- RoboKiller, Robotexts Jump to 19 Billion As 2023 Winds Down, PR Newswire (2024)
- Federal Communications Commission, Call Blocking Tools and Resources (2026)
- Apple, Manage unknown callers on iPhone, Apple Support (2026)