If you’ve ever received repeated calls from annoying telemarketers and Internet providers, you know how annoying it is. You don’t even have the possibility of calling them back and asking them to stop, as these calls usually come from hidden or restricted numbers!
Unfortunately, mobile phone scammers do exactly the same. But instead of offering services, they call with the purpose of stealing your personal and payment details.
Your loved ones may also receive unwanted calls from restricted numbers. And like anyone else, they can face severe danger, like scammers, bullies and predators who use mobile phones to harass their victims and pressure them to do what they want.
One of the ways to protect your loved ones from receiving suspicious calls is by blocking restricted numbers on their mobile devices. In this article, we’ve gathered 6 ways on how to block calls on iOS and Android.
Table Of Contents
Why You Should Block Calls From a Restricted Number
Would you use a restricted or hidden phone number if you want to communicate with your friend, colleague, or neighbor? Probably, no, as you want other people to be able to call you back.
Scammers, bullies, and predators usually use restricted numbers. And this is the main reason to block such numbers. Let’s have a closer look at the problems you and your loved one can face by answering the unknown number.
Bullying
If your kid faces bullying at school, they are likely to be offended at home, too. Peers can harass their victims on the Internet by sending harassing messages and leaving offensive comments on their posts. Another way to bully someone remotely is by harassing them on the phone.
But adults are also at risk. Statistics showed that between 37% and 45% of Americans have experienced some form of bullying as adults.
Scam
If you read or watch the news, you know that many scammers take advantage of their victims by phone. They call from restricted numbers that are pretty hard to track and persuade naive individuals to share their personal information and credit card details.
Kids are especially under threat of being scammed by phone, as frauds can easily intimidate them and pressure to share their physical address, ID details, and other personal data.
Abuse
Researchers say that about 59% of kids and teens willingly engage with strangers online and share their details on social media. Some of those strangers are predators who seek young victims to abuse.
If your kid’s phone number gets into the hands of a predator, he is likely to call your child and pressure them to meet up, harassing to tell parents about their “friendship”.
#1: Install Mspy to See All the Restricted Calls
If your loved ones are bullied or harassed on the phone, you no longer need to search for complicated phone settings or reach out to mobile providers. You can use a monitoring app, such as mSpy, to see who called them.
After buying a subscription, you’ll receive an email with your account details. Use them to log in to your mSpy Control on your smartphone or computer.
Next, open the Call tap to see their call history. Here you can see the phone number, names, duration and dates. If you see any suspicious calls, you can block them using one of the methods below.
Additionally, you can monitor their messages, social media chats, view visited sites, track GPS location, and do so much more with the mSpy app. If you want to know more about its features, head over to mSpy.com.
#2: Use the Blocking Feature on Android
Although you can’t prevent suspicious individuals from calling your loved ones, there are ways to block incoming calls on their Android device.
Most mobile phone models have a built-in blocking feature to block or restrict incoming calls. To use this feature, you need to open call history on a target phone. Here’s how to block restricted numbers with this feature on Android:
- Open call history.
- Tap i icon to see the detailed information about the call.
- Click on the three dots in the bottom right corner and choose Block contact in the popup menu.
- Note that the process can differ based on phone manufacture and its model.
If you’re unsure whether your loved one phone has a blocking feature, contact the manufacturer’s support representatives to find it out.
#3: Block Restricted Phone Calls via Call History on iPhone
You can block unwanted calls on iOS mobile phones using the same method as the previous one, but some steps will be different:
- Open call history.
- Click the blue i icon next to a restricted call.
- Press Block This Caller to block a specific restricted call.
#4: Turn On Do Not Disturb Mode
Another method to restrict calls on both Android and iPhone is to use Do Not Disturb Mode. This is a special mode that allows you to set a schedule and customize settings for allowed calls. Let’s first see how to do this on Android:
- Open Settings and select Sounds.
- Press Do not disturb and choose from which contact you want to see calls.
- Customize a schedule and turn on the mode.
Here’s how to enable Do Not Disturb Mode on iPhone:
- Find the Focus tab in Settings and click Do Not Disturb.
- Click People and add contacts from which calls are allowed.
- Set the schedule for Do Not Disturb mode and turn it on.
#5: Contact the Mobile Phone Provider
If you keep asking “how to block a restricted number,” contact your mobile phone provider to get assistance. This is a universal method for both operating systems.
Find the number of your home phone provider in the about section or on a sim card. Contact support managers and ask them to block restricted calls. Note that you may need to pay a fee (depending on your provider’s policy).
#6: Contact the National Do Not Call Registry
You can contact the National Do Not Call Registry to get free help to block a restricted number. The organization is supposed to protect people from annoying telemarketers and sellers. However, you will keep receiving calls from charities, political groups, and businesses you deal with.
After you register your account, you’ll get a confirmation email. Once it’s confirmed, follow the instruction to add the phone numbers that you want to block. If you still receive calls from these numbers, you can report this to FTC.
Last Thoughts
Calls from unknown numbers can get very annoying, especially with scammers on the rise. Most of them won’t stop on calls and can try to reach your loved ones even on social media. That’s why, if you want to safeguard them, you should consider using a powerful monitoring app such as mSpy.
Not only can you see the restricted phone numbers in their call logs, but you can also check if they looked up these numbers in their browser. And this is just the beginning of what mSpy can do!
How do I block a caller listed as restricted. Someone keeps calling and hanging up when I answer.