Stop Unwanted Calls and Messages

How to stop unwanted calls and text messages on your cell phone. Cell phones are very handy communications tools and we keep them with us nearly all of the time. This becomes a problem when unwanted calls and messages occur. Such communication can be frustrating as well as expensive since we pay to receive even unsolicited messages and calls. If you want to stop unwanted calls and messages, you've come to the right place. From irritating spam to frightening harrassment, some calls need to stop. Unwanted calls and text messages can come in the form of either SPAM or harrassment. SPAM is most common and is more easily dealt with but harassing calls are more serious and sometimes require more radical action.

There are steps that you can take to try to stop unwanted calls and messages before they even happen. Some of the unwanted calls and messages from businesses, marketers, or spammers are particularly easy to prevent. Keep your cell phone number private. Provide it only to those individuals you trust. Be aware of the privacy policy of any business before you provide your cell phone number. Providing it may not only allow them to contact you with additional offers but in some instances, they will sell your information for others to use. Keep this in mind even in the non internet world.

Be particularly wary of downloads to your cell phone. Your cell phone number is then available to this company and it's especially critical to use these online services only if they are a trusted site. Look for check boxes indicating that you are giving permission for further marketing contacts when you sign up for anything online; whether you are making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or requesting membership in something. If such additional messages or calls would be unwanted, uncheck the box, or if preferred, provide an e-mail address only.

Signing up for the "Do Not Call Registry" should be your first step if you want to stop unwanted calls and messages. You can register your number at DoNotCall.gov. Never open any unwanted text messages or respond to them in any way. Either delete them or forward them to the FTC at spam@uce.gov. Work to prevent phishing operations from discovering your e-mail address and number. Use an e-mail address that would be hard to guess, use both letters and numbers in it. Be sure all members of your family are aware of these precautions so that they don't accidently agree to unwanted calls and messages or provide your contact information to unreliable sources.

Many modern cell phones allow the user to program their phone to block unknown and private calls which will go a long way in reducing unwanted calls and messages. Reading through the owner's manual will reveal how this can be accomplished as well as how to activate any webmail filter. Check your cell phone company's website. It often allows you to set up filters as well, to help eliminate unknown callers and spam. Some even allow you to block roaming and/or international calls to eliminate such excessive charges.

Another option is to program the cell phone to have all private/unknown calls assigned a silent ringtone so that it goes unanswered and instead ends up on voice mail where the user can later delete it just as they do e-mail delivered to their spam folder. A final option is to have all calls which originate from callers not on your contact list to roll to voicemail. Again, you can delete any unwanted calls later. If the above efforts aren't satisfactory there is software available to help users blacklist numbers. This Windows Application Call/SMS Blocker is an example.

There are a few things you can do to block text messages if you are receiving unwanted text messages. Disable text messaging altogether. Go to the cell phone company's website to set up your preferences. You can often block certain domains or eliminate messages originating from the internet which is where most spam is generated. Call your cell phone company to make them aware of the situation. See if they can block a specific number/develop a block list and have them reverse any charges. If the above suggestions don't achieve the desired results consider additional software to block messages.