Your Much-Needed Samsung Robocall Blocker

It is no secret that robocalls have become a massive cause for concern in the United States. The spam call problem has gotten so bad that President Donald Trump signed into law a new Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED) in December 2019.

Because the TRACED Act cannot abolish robocalls from our lives just yet, people have started resorting to other solutions to try and make their lives robocall-free.

One of those solutions includes the use of robocall blocking apps.

If you are using a Samsung device, you are in for a treat, as the company introduced its new Smart Call feature that can help you ward off annoying spam and scam callers!

The New Samsung Robocall Block Service

To make their caller ID and number blocking services more efficient, Samsung partnered with the team behind Hiya— the world-renowned robocall blocking app.

Their new service is called Smart Call, and it is available on all Samsung devices operating on Android OS Version 9.0 (Pie).

How Does Smart Call Work?

Samsung’s Smart Call service lets you know who is calling even if the number is not among your contacts. Numbers are screened in one of the four following formats:

• Caller ID
• Not Spam
• Suspected Scam
• Scam or Fraud

Smart Call allows you to block or report numbers before or after you respond.

While your phone is ringing, you can block a number by:

1. Taping the Block/Report number button at the bottom of the screen
2. Selecting Block number

If you wish to report a number while your phone is ringing, you can:

1. Tap the Block/Report number button at the bottom of the screen
2. Select Report number
3. Select the call type (General Spam, Political, Extortion, etc.)
4. Write a comment about the call
5. Tap the Report button

How Do You Activate Smart Call?

To activate Smart Call on your Samsung device, you have to:

1. Open the Phone app
2. Select Settings
3. Tap on Call Settings
4. Turn on the Caller ID and spam protection switch

Another way to turn on Smart Call is to swipe down from the home screen and tap on Caller ID and spam protection in your notifications.

Now you know how to stop robocalls on a Samsung phone!

Can My Samsung S7 Detect Robocalls?

If you were wondering whether you can block numbers on old Samsung devices, the answer is a resounding yes! While Smart Call uses far more sophisticated algorithms, Samsung’s previous number blocking feature is all but outdated.

To block a number on older Samsung devices, you need to:

1. Open the Phone app
2. Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Settings
3. Select Block numbers
4. Tap on the plus icon
5. Enter the number you want to block

Blocking All Unknown Numbers on Older Samsung Devices

In case you need it, Samsung devices allow you to block all unknown numbers. To enable this service, you have to:

1. Open the Phone app
2. Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Settings
3. Toggle Block unknown callers on

What if You Are Using an iOS Device?

Just like Android devices, iOS smartphones come equipped with number blocking features. However, if you have an iOS 13 device or higher, your phone also allows you to silence all unknown callers.

To block a number on an iOS device, you should:

1. Open the Phone app
2. Select Recents
3. Tap on the info icon next to the number you want to block
4. Select Block this Caller
5. Select Block Contact

To silence all unknown callers, you must:

1. Open Settings
2. Select Phone
3. Toggle on the Silence Unknown Callers switch

Can You Block Robocalls on a Landline?

Some third-party apps like Nomorobo offer free robocall blocking services for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) landlines.

The app uses the “simultaneous ring” technology to hold back irritating spam callers.

Essentially, whenever your phone rings, Nomorobo gets the call as well. If the app beats you to picking up the phone, it will run the number through its system and discern whether it is a scam number or not.

If the robocall turns out to be a fraud, your phone will not ring the second time.

What if You Have a Copper Wire Landline?

Though copper wire is an outdated landline technology, some households in America still use it. Robocalls are tough to deal with on copper wire landlines because you need to purchase costly hardware and attach it to your phone.

These devices screen out scam numbers when they recognize them, but the problem is that they come preloaded with a set of numbers that cannot be expanded.

In an era where robocallers change their numbers daily, this type of technology is not particularly helpful.

Robocalls Should Not Be

Robocalls can be used for many good purposes.

As a fitting example, let us see how a school could benefit from sending mass notifications through automated calls and texts:

• Schools can use robocalls to notify parents about their children’s absence
• If a parent forgets to re-up its child’s lunch balance, the school can inform them about the low balance via an automated call or text
• Robocalls can be used to notify students and parents about upcoming field trips or other similar events
• In case of an emergency, robocalls are the least time-consuming solution for notifying students, parents, and staff members about school closure

Terms and Conditions for Placing Robocalls

Businesses and telemarketers heavily rely on automated calls for promoting their products and services. However, the Federal Trading Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set forth several rules that companies need to follow regarding the placement of robocalls.

Some of these rules are:

1. Callers need to identify themselves properly
2. All calls have to be placed between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
3. Automated calls and messages have to allow the customer to opt-out of the company’s calls
4. People whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call list cannot be dialed without their consent

Transparency is Mandatory

Whenever a robocall is being placed, at the very beginning, the caller has to:

• Disclose his or her identity
• Disclose the identity of the company on whose behalf the call is being placed

Before the call is over, the caller has to leave the customer with the following information:

• The company’s address
• The company’s phone number

Customers Decide Who Gets to Call Them

If a customer changes his or her mind about receiving telemarketing calls, he or she has to be provided with an option to put their number on the company’s do not call list:

• Voicemails have to contain a toll-free, callback number that the customer can dial and opt-out of the company’s calls
• Pre-recorded messages have to allow the customer to press a certain digit and place their number on the company’s do not call list

Receiving FTC’s Protection

Since 2003, the FTC’s Do Not Call Registry has been helping Americans ward off annoying telemarketers. As long as your number is on the Do Not Call list, companies have to have your written consent to dial you legally.

To put your number on the Do Not Call Registry and report an unwanted call, you need to:

1. Open FTC’s Do Not Call website
2. Select Report Unwanted Calls
3. Give details on the unwanted call you received
4. Submit your request

If you are wondering how to check if a number is on the Do Not Call list, feel free to run through our in-depth guide.

You can also find additional information about the Do Not Call list expiration and Do Not Call list exceptions by visiting our website.

Lastly, the FCC guide to robocalls can help you learn more about various measures that you can take to protect yourself from scam robocallers.

Ways of Robocall Scammers

Though the new Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED) promises to make things harder for robocall scammers, for the time being, setting up a robocall scheme is not as difficult as one might think.

Robocallers can pull off a successful hoax if they:

1. Acquire a substantial leads list
2. Get into America’s phone network
3. Kickstart the autodialing process
4. Operate a phone bank
5. Convert the income into other forms of money

Purchasing Leads

Scammers acquire leads lists in the same way telemarketers and other businesses do. For just a few thousands of dollars, they can purchase more than one million phone numbers!

Infiltrating America’s Phone Network

Because major phone carriers are under the supervision of the FTC and the FCC, scammers often gravitate towards small phone providers to infiltrate into America’s phone network. Since small phone carriers are not under the scrutiny of the government, they are more than willing to provide their services to fraudsters for the right price.

The More They Dial, the More They Earn

Robocall scammers use sophisticated autodialing technology to increase their conversion rates. Because only a small percentage of people (between three to five percent) who receive scam calls end up taking the bait, scammers need to dial as many numbers as they can in a short time frame.

State of the art autodialing software is capable of dialing up to one million numbers in a single hour!

Robots Do Not Steal Your Money—People Do!

Pre-recorded messages and voicemails serve the purpose of luring you into the scammer’s territory. All fraudsters have operating phone banks run by people whose job is to extort your personal information or money.

Converting the Income

To stop the government from tracking their cash flow, scammers need to convert their income into other forms of money quickly—gift cards are what they typically resort to in these situations.

End Your Robocall Struggles With DoNotPay

While you can report a robocall in the hope that the scammer will never contact you again, we believe that fraudulent robocallers need to be punished for their misdeeds.

DoNotPay’s latest Robocall Revenge feature allows you to track down robocall scammers and demand compensation!

Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), individuals may be entitled to seek $500 for each robocall they receive without their consent, and this amount can potentially be tripled to $1,500 if the court finds the violation to be willful or knowing.

If you asked us how to stop robocalls, we would tell you that making them pay is a legitimate strategy towards lessening their impact on our society.

To start using our Robo Revenge service, access DoNotPay through a web browser.

Our way of dealing with scammers is unique. Here is what it looks like:

1. You get a scam robocall
2. The hoaxer tries to steal your money or personal information
3. You open DoNotPay and select Robo Revenge
4. Our app provides you with a free virtual credit card
5. You share the fake card details with the scammer
6. We track them down based on the transaction details
7. DoNotPay helps you write a dispute letter and send it on your behalf

Virtual Credit Cards Are Super Important

Virtual credit cards are essential for keeping malicious robocallers far from your money and personal information as they allow us to:

1. Keep your identity and personal information protected
2. Track down robocall scammers based on the transaction details

For now, we are only able to help you send demand letters to domestic robocall scammers. Location information is mandatory for filing a lawsuit, and we cannot acquire such data with international robocallers.

Robocall Scams You Are Likely to Encounter

Robocall scams have become omnipresent. Fraudsters place their scam calls under various guises spanning from government agencies to large corporations. Regardless of their cloaks, all robocalls are annoying, but some are less dangerous and common than others. If you are an American citizen, you are likely to encounter the following robocall scams:

Stop, Robocalls. You Are Bothering Me!

Although your Samsung robocall blocker does a decent job of tackling robocall-related privacy issues, there are other faster and more reliable robocall blockers available. While cell phone carriers offer their proprietary apps for fighting back against robocalls—most of the time they can only identify the source but not block the scam call—you would be better of using a third-party app such as:

The Only Digital Assistant That Puts You First

We know how important it is to have someone to lean on in times of great hardship. That is why DoNotPay always puts you first. Whenever you need to lower your bills, get a helping hand with paying bills or send demand letters to companies that did you wrong, we will have your back. You can access the world’s number one digital assistant via a web browser. Through our app’s handy features, you can:

• Contest parking tickets
• Deal with bills you are unable to pay
• Cancel subscriptions or memberships
• Dispute traffic tickets
• Fight speeding tickets
• Schedule a DMV appointment fast and easy
• Get refunds for delayed or canceled flights
• Deal with credit card issues
• Jump the phone queue when getting in touch with customer service reps
• Send demand letters to people and companies in small claims court
• Get revenge on other robocalls