Unwanted calls and texts are not just annoying, but they’re also quite disruptive. They can wake you up in the middle of the night or distract you while driving. Often they are “robocalls,” which are pretty much automated calls or texts that are sent to very many people. They often cover different topics such as warranties, credit card debt, student loan debt, and more. They cal also be scams by people trying to get you to give them some money. Some will pretend to be the IRS and scare you into giving them some money. This is a big problem and they’re on the rise. Luckily, we’re not completely defenseless. You can add your name to a Do Not Call list at www.donotcall.gov. You can also go there to report unwanted calls and texts you have received. The government, and perhaps others around the world, are working on ways to get rid of these pesky annoyances. People have been caught sending unsolicited calls and texts or even just scamming some one out of money and they have paid some very hefty fines (including jail or prison time) for it.

One of the most basic things you can do about this is to simply not answer or reply to any number that you do not recognize. This doesn’t stop them, so one of the best solutions, I’ve found, is to download a free app for your phone that can do just this. I downloaded one from the Google Play Store called Anti-Nuisance. Basically, what this app has allowed me to do is to set up a “white list” of callers I will accept phone calls and texts from and it will block everything else. I still get them, but my phone doesn’t ring or beep at me. The app quietly blocks them and gives me a silent notification that tells me how many calls or texts it has blocked. If I want, I can go into the log in the and look at what it has blocked. I can even set up a time period of when I will accept calls and texts, so that they don’t interfere with my sleep. Of course, I could just simply turn off my phone while sleeping or only turn it on when I want to use it, but I do like to use my phone’s alarm clock.

This has become a recent problem for me, I’ve even thought about changing my phone number. My service provider doesn’t seem to have much defense against unwanted calls and texts, so I had to find my own way of dealing with them. Thus, I wanted to share this with you. The app I use is free, but contains ads. There are also optional features with other providers that may cost additional money, but may be worth it if this is plaguing you, too.

I’ve embedded a quick video from Linus Tech Tips in this post, but I found another video recently that I think you should check out. https://youtu.be/xS_PItRSruk

Feel free to share your thoughts on this issue and how you combat it.