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What are potential spam calls? [& how to block them]

Dealing with spam calls has become a universal nuisance, often leading to wasted time and potential security risks. In an effort to combat this, phone carriers have developed systems to label suspicious calls as “potential spam” or similar warnings.

But how reliable are these labels, and how can you effectively block such calls?

In this guide you’ll discover what “potential spam” calls are, how carriers identify them, and the various methods you can use to block these calls on both iPhone and Android devices. You’ll also learn about the spam-filtering features offered by major carriers, how to report spam, and additional steps to protect your personal information.

Dive in to reclaim control over your phone and avoid the pitfalls of unwanted calls.

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Dorota Martin

What is a “potential spam” call?

“Potential spam” is a label assigned by Verizon when the caller ID is suspected to be a source of spam, either because the number has already been reported or because of how frequently someone calls from this number and how long these calls last. 

Verizon is not the only phone carrier that has this kind of spam-detection feature. Other telephone companies can also identify potential callers but will use a slightly different label to inform their customers:

T-Mobile calls potential spam calls “scam likely” or “nuisance likely.” AT&T labels these as “spam risk” or “fraud risk.” If you’re a Frontier customer, you’ll see “potential spam” on your screen.

How can carriers identify “potential spam” calls, and can these methods be trusted?

Phone carriers typically use various methods to label suspicious callers, including checking databases of known spam numbers and behavioral analytics, which consists of analyzing call records and using algorithms to detect potential spam callers. 

Call detail records contain essential metadata about the call, such as call origin, destination, media type, duration, and connection status. Behavioral analytics are commonly used to detect suspicious callers, analyzing call reach and frequency factors. For example, if a new number suddenly makes an unusually high volume of calls at specific times, it may be flagged as “potential spam.” 

Additionally, smartphones offer native tools to identify and mark spam calls. Features like Apple’s “silence unknown caller” and Android’s “report spam” option provide additional data streams for machine learning processes to identify potential spam calls.

These services are increasingly accurate in telling legitimate businesses from spam and potential fraud, but they aren’t perfect. In other words, they may not detect all spam and scam calls and may misidentify legitimate calls as spam.

Block potential spam calls with your phone features

iOS and Android have helpful features that block incoming calls from numbers that aren’t on your contact list. Although not explicitly designed to block “potential spam” calls, this feature will filter out calls based on the phone number. It will also silence spam numbers (because, typically, these are not in your contacts). 

Silence unknown callers on an iPhone

This feature is only available on iOS 13 and later versions. It’ll silence all calls from unknown numbers and send them to voicemail. You can always check who called you in the “recent” tab.

  1. Go to “settings.”
  2. Scroll down and tap “phone.”
  3. Scroll down and tap “silence unknown callers.”
  4. Toggle on “silence unknown callers.”

Block potential spam calls on your Android phone

Here’s how to block unknown callers on an Android phone:

  1. Open the “phone” app.
  2. Tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
  3. Tap “settings.”
  4. Tap “block numbers.”
  5. Toggle on “block unknown/private numbers.”

Use the spam-filter features offered by your carrier

Most carriers in the US offer spam protection packages or spam-blocking features for an extra fee. Check with your carrier about which options they offer. Below, we list spam-call protection features provided by the most popular phone service providers. 

Scam Shield from T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s Scam Shield is a comprehensive set of tools that claims to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to protect customers from unwanted calls, scams, and robocalls. The service can block spam calls before they reach you, and allows you to report incoming calls as spam.

Call Filter from Verizon

Verizon’s Call Filter is designed to help customers identify and block spam calls, robocalls, and potential fraudsters. It offers several features to enhance call security, including spam detection, spam filter, spam and blocked call log, allow numbers, report spam, and neighborhood filter.

Call Protect from AT&T

Call Protect is a service provided by AT&T to help customers identify and block unwanted calls, including spam calls, robocalls, and telemarketers. It offers automatic fraud blocking, spam-call labeling, and reporting.

How to report spam and prevent it from happening

Reporting spam phone calls is a great way to prevent them from calling you again. But even if you do, you’ll inevitably continue receiving spam from other phone numbers. There are two ways to help you thwart future long-term spam attempts.

Register with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Do Not Call Registry 

While it won’t be effective for scam calls, you can reduce spam by registering your phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry. It’s a free service and will reduce the number of spam calls you receive, as telemarketers are prohibited from calling your numbers if they can be found on the registry.

Remove your personal information from the internet

Spammers get your number from online sources. Even if you didn’t share it on social media, it can still end up on people search sites. Remove your personal info from the internet to cut down on spam and scam calls. How? Follow our step-by-step guide on how to remove your personal information from the internet.

Another option is to use a removal service like Incogni. We’ll send data-removal requests on your behalf to the 168+ data brokers we cover, saving you hundreds of hours. Our yearly plan helps ensure your personal information stays private as we continuously and repeatedly work on keeping your online record clean. 

What to do if you answer a “potential spam” call

It’s best not to answer incoming calls with the caller ID labeled as “potential spam.” Let these calls go to voicemail to avoid any risk or fraud. 

If you do pick up a phone call despite the spam warning, don’t speak. Wait for them to talk first instead. If you answer with “yes,” scammers may argue you gave consent for them to act on your behalf or agreed to something you didn’t mean to. 

Once you realize you answered a spam or scam call, hang up and block the number using your phone settings. Here’s how:

Blocking phone numbers on an iPhone

  • Tap the phone app.
  • Tap the little “i” icon next to the number you want to block.
  • Scroll down and tap “block caller.”
  • When prompted, tap “block contact.”

Blocking spam and scam callers on an Android phone

  • Go to the phone app.
  • Tap the number you want to block. A menu will appear below.
  • Tap the “i” icon. You’ll be taken to a new page.
  • Tap “block” in the bottom-right corner.
  • A pop-up will appear, tap “block” again.

Related content

Not exactly what you’re looking for? We’ve organized all our articles about stopping spam here.

FAQ

How do I get rid of potential spam?

“Potential spam” warns you that the incoming call could be spam. If you don’t want to see it on your screen, you can use the “silence unknown callers” feature on an iPhone or “block unknown numbers” on an Android phone. You can also contact your phone carrier to adjust your call-filtering options.

How does the iPhone know potential spam?

The incoming caller is identified by your phone carrier rather than your device. Carriers use registers and algorithms to mark calls as potential spam. This information is displayed on your phone as “spam risk” or “potential spam” under the phone number. 

Why is my number marked as “potential spam?”

Your number could be marked as potential spam because someone has reported it to the phone carrier or because your calling pattern looks suspicious (e.g., you make very frequent and short calls). Contact your carrier to find out why your phone number has been flagged. 

Does potential spam mean spam?

There’s a good chance that numbers flagged as “potential spam” are spam. However, the system carriers use to identify spam isn’t perfect, and some calls identified as “potential spam” are legitimate. 

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