Free phone settings, one text to 7726 and a few habits can cut daily junk calls and texts, and lower the risk of losing money to a scam.
The fastest way to cut spam texts is to stop answering them, and to forward them to 7726 instead. That number spells SPAM on a keypad. Carriers take reports there for free. A handful of other free steps, most of them done in seconds, can help cut robocalls too.
Spam-blocking firm YouMail estimates Americans got about 2.1 billion scam and telemarketing robocalls a month through September 2026, according to the consumer group U.S. PIRG. Pew Research found about 1 in 3 U.S. adults gets at least one scam call a day. For 21%, it is several a day. The Federal Trade Commission says the average phone scam victim lost $3,973 in the first half of 2026. Text scam victims lost an average of $1,960.
Even replying STOP tells the sender your number is live, which makes it more valuable. Scammers buy and sell those lists. Links are risky too. One tap can install malware, pull your contacts or send you to a fake bank login page.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calls this the fastest way to alert your carrier. Carriers use the reports to block similar messages across their networks.
On iPhone, go to Settings, Apps, Messages, and turn on Screen Unknown Senders. Then open Phone and set Screen Unknown Callers to Silence or Ask Reason for Calling.
On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings, then Spam and Call Screen, and turn on Filter spam calls. On some phones this is a Call Screen option instead. In Messages, turn on Spam Protection.
There is a trade-off. Silencing unknown numbers means a real call from a school or doctor's office could go to voicemail.
The big three carriers offer free spam protection that works on their networks, so junk is stopped before your phone rings. The FCC requires every U.S. provider to offer some form of call blocking. Check your carrier's website, or the FCC's list of blocking tools.
Joining the Do Not Call list will not stop scammers, who already break the law. It does cut calls from lawful telemarketers. The FTC reports about 258.5 million numbers were registered as of September 2025. After you sign up, legitimate telemarketers have 31 days to drop you. A sales call after that is illegal.
Report calls that get through at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. It will not get you a refund. It can help build cases. The FCC effectively shut down about 1,400 phone companies in 2025 for routing illegal robocalls.
The FCC warns that without a voicemail password, a hacker could spoof your number and get into your voicemail. Set a strong, unique PIN, not a birthday, 1234 or the last four digits of your number. Delete old voicemails that mention account numbers or addresses.
Also think before giving out your number on forms, loyalty sign-ups and checkout prompts. Numbers get sold, traded and resold. No step stops every scam, but the article's author, who gets eight to 10 a day, says these can bring the count down to one or two.
Never reply to a spam text, forward it to 7726, and turn on your phone's free spam screening.
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