You have switched from landline to mobile. The telemarketers and scammers unfortunately too. With these measures you effectively stop unwanted phone calls.

Alex Wit

For years, the Do Not Call Registry was a fairly handy firewall against unwanted telemarketing. As of July 1, 2021, Do not call me has expired and the amended Telemarketing law has come into effect. This means that Dutch telemarketing companies are no longer allowed to call potential customers without their permission, or opt-in. Exceptions are companies and organizations of which you are or have been a customer. You have to let them know that you no longer want to be called. Of course, foreign companies or criminals will not comply with this law. Moreover, the Do not call register showed that there was little enforcement in practice. The question is whether this will improve with this new law. That is why it is good to know how you can protect yourself even more.

Phone Spam Figure 4 2 Block phone spam with Truecaller

Block with apps

Call blocker apps are specially focused on Call blocker apps are specially focused on blocking unwanted phone calls. These apps check telephone traffic worldwide on the basis of an extensive database of known numbers of telemarketers, spammers and scammers. In addition to blocking these numbers, in some cases you can also see who is hiding behind them. A disadvantage of these apps is that they monitor your telephone traffic and are not specifically aimed at the Netherlands. Popular call blocker apps are: TrueCaller, Call Control, Call Blocker and Calls Blacklist.
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Add trusted callers to your contact list

BEWARE OF SUSPICIOUS PHONE NUMBERS
Recognizing unwanted numbers is a good start to combating phone spam. Companies usually call with two types of numbers. The 085 area code is not tied to a region and is therefore widely used by companies, especially for telemarketing.

Also popular is calling with a hidden or anonymous number. It is almost always a company that wants to sell you something, but likes to keep it hidden until you answer the phone.
Also pay close attention to the country code. If there is something other than 0031 or +31 at the beginning of the number, you will be called from abroad. In the vast majority of cases, this concerns scammers who try to sell you something or who want to extort your data or money. Never pick up or call back from an unknown foreign number. Otherwise there is a good chance that you will be kept on the line and pay high calling costs.

USE YOUR CONTACT LIST
The contact list on your smartphone contains the numbers of trusted people. If you keep this list neat, you immediately have a good filter against unwanted calls. To add a number from the recent calls list to your contacts, tap the circled i on an iPhone. On an Android smartphone, tap and hold the number, then tap Create new contact. Add the number to your contacts with a name. From now on, that name will appear when you receive a call from that number. Do you only see a phone number? Then it concerns an unknown number and you can choose whether or not to answer.

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Check who called

CHECK THE NUMBER
A telephone number that is unknown to you is often known on the internet. There are various national and international websites on which numbers of unwanted callers are kept, such as wiehetbeld.nl. On this you will find dubious telephone numbers and the corresponding experiences of those who have answered. To search all of these sites at once, type the phone number into a search engine. You can quickly see whether you are dealing with an ordinary company or a telemarketer or scammer.

Keep your number hidden

One of the best ways to prevent phone spam is to make sure your mobile number doesn’t end up in a database. Since those numbers are mainly harvested on the internet, it is mainly a matter of not putting your number publicly on websites and social media. Also be careful if you enter your phone number when placing an order at an online store or creating an account. If it’s not really necessary, don’t give up or enter a fake number.

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Don’t be disturbed

BLOCK AND IGNORE
Your smartphone has several options to block unwanted numbers. After the number has been added to your recent call history – no need to record – on the iPhone, tap the i behind the number. Tap at the bottom of the screen Block this caller. On an Android smartphone, press and hold the number, then tap block/spam report.
Blocking a hidden number is of course not possible. However, you can also prevent this: with the Do not disturb-option. The best Do not disturb-setting is to only let the phone numbers in your contact list pass through, so that you remain reachable for acquaintances. You will not hear a call from a hidden or unknown number, but a non-hidden number will appear on your screen. This way you can simply call back reliable numbers when you look back.
On the iPhone, set up do not disturb via Institutions and Do not disturb. Sets Do not disturb indicate and add Allow calls from on who can go through the filter. On an Android device, the route is usually via Institutions and then Sound, Sounds and Vibration or To call to action and after that Do not disturb or Block calls. Tap on Exceptions (Allow), Amended or Calling from and specify who can reach you.

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