I get spam calls and telemarketing calls every day. They're always from different numbers too, so blocking one number won't prevent any of the others from calling. Fortunately, iOS 10 includes a new feature for developers called CallKit, which allows them to give us sweet relief from those phone calls.
One such app is Mr. Number Free. It lets you search for any number and get a basic caller ID, location, and rating based on fraud or scam reports. You can also take steps to report or block a number you think is fraudulent. Additionally, Mr. Number integrates with the Phone app. Once the app is installed, you can see calls marked as spam as they come in and even more in your call history so you know immediately what you're dealing with.
To its credit, Android has had apps with these capabilities for quite some time. But for iPhone users, here's how to start enjoying the best features of Mr. Number.
The great thing about Mr. Number's integration with CallKit is that you don't have to do a lot of work at all. If you receive a call from an unknown number that has been flagged by the community, the number will automatically be tagged Scam, Telemarketer or similar. This way you know how to decline the call and not even think about it. These tags also appear in your Recents list directly in the Phone app.
If you get a call from a number that Mr. Number hasn't marked and you're still suspicious about it, you can just search for it in the app to see for yourself. Copy and paste the phone number, open the Mr. Number app and paste it into the Identifier tongue. You will receive basic caller ID and location information, as well as a warning if the community has flagged the call as fraudulent.
Mr. Number's community is large enough to identify most culprits. In fact, a recent call I received that was marked as "suspected spam" in the app received nearly 400 user reports. You can also read these comments when you search for a number.
Once you've researched a number and found issues, you can then take steps to report it or block it altogether. Tap Report on the caller's page to classify the number as general spam, debt collector, political, charity, telemarketer, survey, scam/fraud, or extortion. You can also mark it as not spam if you find it has been mislabeled. Then type your comments about the situation.
If you don't want to contribute, you can simply prevent the caller from ever being able to reach you again.
Perhaps the best feature of all is Mr. Number's ability to automatically block suspected fraudulent or unwanted calls. In the Options tab you can select Block under Fraudulent Calls and Block under spam calls to prevent suspicious numbers from ringing your phone.
This is a great feature if you just want to download the app, block those annoying calls, and never think about it again. Me personally ? I like to let them call so I can see right on the caller ID if it's a scam. Also, if I'm in the mood for a little fun, I'll respond and play with the game for a little while.
Mr. Number is available for free on iOS and Android.
