We used to be happy -- or at least curious -- when the phone rang, but in recent years that chime or quiet vibration has turned into a source of anxiety. Unsolicited calls and messages have surged, and although phone makers and carriers are adding features to block scam calls, there are still too many that get through.

But in 2026, you don't have to be a passive victim of a simple "Hello?" that opens the floodgates to even more spam. Answering a suspicious call just to tell someone to stop is actually the worst move you can make. It confirms your number is active and can land you on a "high-value" list for other scammers.

We've got the details on how to banish these calls once and for all. If you're ready to stop being a target for every scammer with an autodialer, here's the one move you need to make to reclaim your phone.

For more, here are five signs your information is on the dark web and seven tips to keep your phone secure.

The number of scam calls can't be that bad, can it?

It sounds like I'm being overly dramatic, but everyone I know is dealing with scam calls. And it's not just anecdotal: Voice security company Hiya has numbers to back it up.

In its State of the Call 2026 report, US consumers received an average of 10 spam calls per week, Hiya found. Due to these scams and a rise in AI deepfakes, one in 12 people surveyed lost money to a phone scam in 2025, with an average amount of $682.

Money-grabbing schemes aren't the only issue. AI is being used to impersonate influential people on calls to sway behavior. During the 2024 US election year, the Federal Communications Commission banned AI-powered robocalls following an incident where a Texas company created a robocall impersonating President Joe Biden telling Democrats not to vote in the New Hampshire primary; the FCC proposed a $6 million fine for the incident.

So what's being done to reduce scam calls?

In 2021, the FCC mandated that a technology called Stir/Shaken be adopted by every major voice provider in the US. It requires them to verify where calls originate to accurately identify them for Caller ID. Congress has also passed legislation aimed at making the carriers track their anti-robocall efforts.

In December 2023, the FCC adopted new rules to add teeth to its existing policies by making it more difficult for telemarketers to blast unwanted calls and texts to consumers.

The problem is that these technologies and regulations designed to mitigate scam calls are not adequate.

Margot Saunders, senior counsel at the National Consumer Law Center, reiterated this fact. "We have been maintaining for some time that Stir/Shaken is not working to ensure accurate caller ID (which is all it is designed to do), because voice service providers are able to rent thousands of phone numbers to telemarketers and scammers that allow the callers to technically comply with Stir/Shaken without revealing meaningful or accurate caller ID," Saunders said. "The numbers of unwanted calls are about the same as they have been for years."

Although Saunders believes the FCC's December 2023 change will make a difference in the number of telemarketing calls "it did not go into effect until early 2025, and it will take a while for the litigation to have a beneficial impact. "Most telemarketing calls are made on behalf of US corporations, and only the threat of costly litigation is likely to reduce these calls," she said.

You know where this is going with unwanted calls

You can do all sorts of things to try to reduce spam calls, from installing third-party call screening apps to activating scam-blocking services offered by your phone's maker or wireless carriers -- some of which require an extra fee, making that "solution" even more painful. Fortunately, some tools are now built into your phone, such as the call screening feature in iOS 26.

The FCC takes a different approach to dealing with spam calls. It relies more on what you shouldn't do and less on what scam-blocking services may be able to do.

• Don't assume that a Caller ID number shown with a local prefix is actually coming from your area.
• Don't reply to a caller or recording asking you to press a button or answer questions. Don't answer "Yes."
• Never believe someone from an unknown number who claims to represent a company or government agency -- hang up and call a publicly accessible number to verify the request is legitimate. The IRS, for example, said it usually contacts taxpayers through regular mail and not through a phone call or text message.

Don't answer your phone. That's it. That's the answer

So how do you know that a call is suspicious? Easy: Assume they all are.

Unless the Caller ID identifies a person in your phone's contacts list, or you recognize the number (does anyone memorize phone numbers anymore?), assume the call is a scammer.

Just answering a suspicious call with "Hello" can open the floodgates for more scam calls because that tells the scammer there's a human behind your number and, even more importantly, that this human answers their phone. The number may then be sold to other companies. 

That's a nihilistic approach to phone calls, I know. The volume of robocalls is so high that an incoming call is more likely to be spam. As I said, scammers have ruined phone calls.

Send calls to voicemail

So the solution is to just ignore every call? What about your doctor's office calling you back to schedule a checkup -- do you need to add every phone number and extension they use to your contacts? What if a friend's phone battery dies and they use someone else's phone to call you to get a ride? Won't important calls be ignored?

There's a narrow ray of light in the telephony darkness. Unless the call is from someone you know, let it go straight to voicemail. The best method is to let it ring, since even actively declining the call might be enough to alert scammers that they have a live number. On the iPhone and Android, press the Sleep/Wake button once to stop it ringing on your end -- the caller will continue to hear rings until the call is automatically sent to voicemail.

With voicemail on most phones, you can see a list of pending messages, often with a rough voice transcription for each one. I can tell at a glance that the unknown callers leaving 4-second messages are most likely scammers, and anything longer than that I can skim without listening to the full message.

You can even bypass the disruption of getting the call. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers and turn on the Silence Unknown Callers switch. Anyone not in your contacts, list of outgoing calls or Siri Suggestions goes to voicemail without ringing the phone. Android phones have a similar feature called Filter Spam Calls located in the Phone app's settings, or a Call Screen feature, depending on the device. 

You can also screen a call without picking up on some devices. With Apple's Live Voicemail feature in iOS 17 and later, ignore the incoming call and then tap the Voicemail button on the lock screen if the caller hasn't hung up. While they leave their message, iOS transcribes it in real-time, and you can break in and talk to the person if it's a call you need to take.

On Android, Google is using Gemini AI tools to screen calls and detect scams. And Google is also joining forces with Meta and Amazon to find solutions to online scams.

Still, these features are unlikely to make a meaningful dent in the overall problem. "We believe these tools are not useful for several reasons," Saunders said, pointing out that only knowledgeable and careful consumers are likely to use them and that the privacy implications of this type of live monitoring are potentially enormous.

"The best way to stop the illegal calls," Saunders said, "is to punish the providers who originate and transmit them. This point has been made time and again to the FCC."

Seriously, stop answering your phone

Look, I want to believe there's a technical way out of this mess. Some conversations really are better over the phone, without the potential for misunderstanding via texting or the need to look half-human on a video call. As long as scam calls entrap people profitably, scammers will also ratchet up their techniques (like creating AI voices that mimic a friend or family member).

We can make it harder for the scammers to succeed by doing the simplest thing.

Just don't answer your phone.

For more security advice, here's how to protect your data on Wi-Fi and how to delete your data from the internet.