Call centers are a real nightmare for thousands of users: here’s how to block calls on your smartphone
Calls from call centers in some cases can even be useful, if the caller is a polite operator working for a serious company. But most of the time they are an unsolicited nuisance and, sometimes, they are also fraudulent calls.
Blocking calls from call centers is, therefore, a desire for many given the marked increase in this business practice in recent years. Blocking these calls altogether, however, is a utopia: phone numbers change all the time, because most call center companies use software to randomize caller ID. So, while there are lists of numbers that certainly belong to call centers, there is no 100% effective filter. However, it is possible to put in place a few small measures that can limit calls from call centers.
Blocking call center calls with an app
There are apps, both for Android and iOS, that have been used to block calls from call centers for years. There are many, but the most famous one is definitely TrueCaller. It’s based on a list of known numbers used by call centers, then automatically filters out all calls coming from those numbers. The list is updated by millions of users around the world and the app is able to “sniff” even numbers not on the list. This is very useful in case of ID randomization.
Blocking calls from call centers with Android or iOS
The latest versions of Google and Apple’s operating systems have built-in features that can help us limit calls from call centers. iOS 13 can even block all calls from numbers that are not in our address book. Android, on the other hand, is very effective in alerting us to a supposed spam call and, if we answered, asks us if it was actually a spam number.
How to limit the number of calls from call centers
There is also a basic tip: before blocking these calls, we should try to make sure that call centers don’t easily have our number. We should always remember that every time we enter our phone number in an online form or in a paper form (even the one for collecting points at the supermarket), it can be “sold” to telemarketing companies.
There is the “Public Register of Oppositions”, a free service that allows users to oppose the use of their phone number and mailing address for advertising purposes. However, even if we are registered in the Register, we will still receive calls from call centers if we have communicated our number and have accepted the policy on the processing of personal data for commercial purposes.