5 ways to block and stop nuisance calls and texts after huge surge in scams

PROTECT yourself from being bombarded with nuisance calls and texts.

Almost half of UK landline customers received a suspicious call in the first half of this year, according to Ofcom.

Mobile users are more likely to receive dodgy texts but 39 per cent of them also reported concerning calls.

LAURA MILLER explains how you can stop them.

NUISANCE calls and texts — often marketing or spam — are any unwanted communications promoting a product or service to you where you have not given permission to be contacted.

But scammers also use nuisance calls and messages to trick people into sharing personal information, handing over access to devices such as laptops and mobile phones, and sending money to fraudsters.

Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at comparison website Uswitch.com, says: “For many people, nuisance calls are a major concern.

“In most cases, they are an annoying interruption — however, for some, they can induce anxiety and distress.

“These unwanted calls are often phishing or scamming attempts, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to spot.”

A common tactic used by criminals to defraud victims is to imitate — or “spoof” — phone numbers from a trusted person or organisation, so their calls are more likely to be answered.

Twenty per cent of the UK’s 17.77 million nuisance call reports come from London area codes — beginning 020 — with 3.6million reports on call-tracking site who-called.co.uk, research by tech firm Back Market found.

Manchester ranks second, with more than 600,000 nuisance caller reports against 0161 area codes.

Blandford Forum, Dorset, is third, with its 01258 area code triggering more than 500,000 reports — despite the town having a population of less than 12,000.

Often, these familiar area codes are just another tactic used by scammers to get you to trust them.

Fraudsters based abroad spoof UK area codes knowing people are more likely to pick up these calls than if an unknown international number is displayed.

Ofcom has this year launched a crackdown on spoofing.

Phone companies will now have to identify and block calls coming from abroad that falsely display a UK telephone number, except in a limited number of legitimate cases.

But taking action yourself is usually the best way to guard against nuisance callers — and the scams they push.

FOLLOW THESE STEPS

HOW TO BLOCK SPAM CALLS ON MOBILES

ON iPhone, you can enable Silence Unknown Callers by going to Settings > Phone, scrolling down to Silence Unknown Callers, tapping the option, and turning on the feature.

This will block phone numbers that are not in your contacts or that you have not contacted previously.

It is disabled for 24 hours after an emergency call.

On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots for more options, tap Settings then turn on Caller ID and spam protection.

This uses a database of phone numbers to determine a caller’s ID and filter out spam calls.

Apps such as Truecaller and Hiya allow users to block nuisance numbers from their smartphones.

You can find these in the Apple App Store for iPhone or the Play Store for Android users.

HOW TO BLOCK SPAM CALLS ON LANDLINES

CONTACT the Telephone Preference Service to add your landline or mobile number to the UK’s official Do Not Call register and opt out of unsolicited communications.

You can register your phone number on the TPS website or by phoning 0345 070 0707.

It is free to register and takes up to 28 days to come into effect.

Mobile phone users can add their number to the TPS register by texting “TPS” and their email address to 85095.

They will receive a text from the TPS confirming their mobile number has been successfully added to its database.

CHECK IF PHONE FIRM HAS BLOCKING SERVICE

USWITCH’S Ernest Doku says certain phone providers offer their own blocking services, some free and some paid for.

Contact your provider to find out more.

Doku adds: “For example, you can protect yourself from nuisance calls by using BT’s Call Protect service, which offers free call-screening.

“EE has a Scam Guard service that flags spam calls. Their security costs from just £1 a month.”

BE CAREFUL ABOUT SHARING DETAILS

YOU may be asked for your phone number when you buy something or use a price comparison website.

Look carefully at the marketing “opt-in” or “opt-out” boxes in the small print — this can be the difference between giving your details to potential nuisance callers or not.

RETIREES’ INCOME TAX HIT

MANY thousands of retirees are set to pay tax on their state pension next year for the first time.

The tax is due to a combination of hefty state pension rises and frozen tax thresholds.

More than 300,000 pensioners will be told they need to pay tax when the state pension rises by £475 in 2025.

Figures released last week confirmed that the state pension is now expected to rise by 4.1 per cent, from £11,502.40 to £11,975 per year, under the triple lock next April.

With tax thresholds frozen until 2028, this increase will push more pensioners into the basic rate income tax bracket.

This is because when combined with private pension income, their annual earnings will exceed the personal annual allowance, which is set at £12,570.

For earnings between £12,570 to £50,270, the basic income tax rate of 20 per cent applies.

Alice Haine of Bestinvest said: “With frozen tax thresholds and the state pension gaining ground on the personal allowance, pensioners are edging closer to their state pension income becoming liable for tax.

“Retirees receiving a higher state pension may already be paying tax on the benefit, while those receiving a private pension income will see more of that swallowed up by tax.”

Next week, Rachel Reeves is expected to announce that the income tax threshold freeze will be extended beyond 2028.

Ellie Smitherman

BILLIONS IN LOST PENSIONS

MORE than three million savers have lost track of pension pots with £31 BILLION now left unclaimed.

The average unclaimed pension amounts to £13,620 for those aged between 55 and 75, according to data from the Pensions Policy Institute.

These savers are typically on the brink or in early stages of retirement.

Reuniting with cash could have a big impact on living standards in their later years.

Pensioners aged over 75 have a typical £6,540 in pots they don’t know about, the data showed.

So-called lost pensions have grown as workers today tend to change jobs more often than in the past.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, at savings platform Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It’s easy to lose track of a pension.

“We move jobs and homes and contact details get lost along the way.

“It’s not a small problem either.

“That pension from the job you had ten years ago will have grown and you risk losing out on thousands of pounds that could be used for your retirement income.”

The Government’s Pension Tracing Service can be used to track down lost savings.

The service will not tell you how much is in the pension but can find contact details for a workplace or personal pension and you can find out from the scheme provider.

It is a good idea to first make a list of everywhere you have worked.

You can then enter details online at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details or call 0800 731 0193 Monday to Friday 10am to 3pm.