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Receiving calls from scammers or those wishing to sell goods or services can be quite frustrating, especially if you are waiting on a call from someone else. While it can be tempting to answer these calls, and even to give the person on the other end of the phone a piece of your mind, there are other ways that you can try to limit the impact they have on your life. Making smarter choices when both answering calls and using your phone can really help with this.

You may notice that a lot of the time, scam calls come from either a withheld number or one that you do not recognise. In terms of peculiar numbers, you may also want to factor in where you live. Receiving unwanted calls from 0191 numbers might be a more likely scenario if you do not live in the Newcastle area. However, it is also possible for scammers to be operating in your locale, or at least using a number with that area code. Recently, it has also become known for scam calls to come from mobile numbers, so you may wish to be vigilant with these as well. Ignoring the call can be a good idea. You may also want to avoid trying to call the number back unless you have verified it, as this could see you facing call charges.

It can also be a good idea to look into the ways that you can reduce the likelihood of calls occurring in the first place. Initially, you may want to think about the services you are giving access to your contact details, such as those who may pass them on to third parties. Making your phone number publicly available, such as on social media, may also allow scammers to access your information. You can also register your number with the telephone preference service, which could fine people or organisations if they solicit you. You might also be able to use this service to report the number of any scam callers who contact you, as well as cybercrime or fraud units.

When you do receive a call from a scammer, or someone trying to sell you an unwanted item or service, you may be unsure of what to do next. While reporting the number can be a good idea, you might also want to prevent them from contacting you again. This can be achieved by blocking the number itself. Although this may not stop the scammer from using a different number to contact you, you can then start to eliminate them by repeating this process each time. Unfortunately, this may not be achievable when the number is listed as withheld or unknown.

Reducing the likelihood of these calls occurring can give you some form of peace of mind, as well as help, protect you from becoming a victim of scams. This can be undertaken on both Android and iOS mobiles, as well as some landlines, to give you even more protection.