Spam calls can be annoying, disruptive and sometimes even dangerous.
The bad news
With todays technology people can appear to be from a company or someone they know, but they're not from that company or person.
For example, you may get a call that looks like it's from:
- Your own name and phone number
- A company whose name is familiar to you
- 1.800.xxx.xxxx (a recognized Business phone number)
- If the caller talks about repairing your computer or asks you to log in to your computer, these are clues the call may not be from a trustworthy individual.
- If you get a call from your Banking Institution, or any other reputable business that you deal with and you don't feel sure the caller is from there, hang up and then call them back to find out if we called you
- Someone claiming they received a call from your number when you know you haven't called them
Callers use Caller ID spoofing to mask their identity and trick you into answering the call. This is a scam or fraud.
For more information, including how to protect yourself and report Caller ID spoofing, visit the CRTC website.
The good news
Many phones come with built-in spam filtering options. For instructions on enabling this feature for commonly used phones, see the links below. If your phone is not included, Google is a great resource.
Apple iOS
Samsung
Google