How to stop spam and scam calls in Australia, explained simply

Here is the honest truth up front: you cannot block every spam call, and anyone who promises otherwise is selling something. But a few settings on your phone cut them right down, and knowing what a scam call sounds like keeps you safe from the ones that still get through. That is the whole game, and it is two halves. First, turn the volume down with a couple of settings and the free Do Not Call Register. Second, learn the handful of scripts scammers use, so the ones that reach you fool nobody. You do not need to understand a thing about technology for either half. Let us take them in order.

Why you get so many spam calls (it isn't your fault)

People often think a wave of spam calls means they did something wrong, or their number has been hacked. Neither is true. Dialling is cheap and automated now. A machine can ring thousands of numbers a minute, and plenty of those are simply guesses, not lists you ever signed up to. So a run of junk calls is normal and it is not personal. That also means the fix is not about hiding your number, it is about filtering what reaches your ear. Here is how to do that.

The one setting that cuts the most: silence unknown callers

Every modern phone has a setting that stops numbers you don't know from ringing out loud. It is the single most useful thing you can turn on. When it's on, a call from a number that isn't saved in your contacts doesn't ring, it goes quietly to voicemail. The genuine callers you care about, saved in your contacts, still ring through as normal. The machines dialling at random get met with silence.

On an iPhone, it lives in Settings, then Phone, then "Silence Unknown Callers." On an Android phone it's in the Phone app's own settings, usually under "Caller ID & spam" or "Call screening," where you can have the phone screen or block suspected spam. The wording differs between brands, but every current phone has some version of this. If you can't find it, that's exactly the sort of thing we're happy to switch on for you.

The trade-off, said plainly: this setting can't tell a scammer from a genuine stranger. So a real caller you haven't saved, a doctor's office, a tradesperson, a hospital ringing back, will be silenced too and sent to voicemail. That is not a disaster. They leave a message, and you ring them back on your own terms. The habit to build is simple: check your voicemail once a day, and save the numbers that matter into your contacts so they always ring straight through.

Your phone company can block calls too

Australian phone providers now block a large amount of scam calls before they ever reach your handset, automatically, and that happens whether you ask or not. On top of that, most offer their own call-blocking feature or app you can switch on for extra filtering. It costs nothing to ask. Ring your provider, or check their app, and say you'd like their spam and scam call blocking turned on. It sits behind your phone's own setting, so the two work together, one catches what the other misses.

The Do Not Call Register: free, and it works on the honest ones

This one is real and worth doing. The Do Not Call Register is a free government service at donotcall.gov.au. You add your phone number to the list, and by law most Australian telemarketers are then not allowed to call you. It genuinely reduces the legitimate marketing calls, the ones from businesses that follow the rules.

Here's the honest limit, so you're not caught out: it works on marketers who obey the law. It does not stop overseas scammers, because a criminal breaking the law to rob you is not going to check a register first. So the Do Not Call Register quietens the legal nuisance calls, and your phone settings and your own good sense handle the rest. Use all three together and the difference is real.

Now the safety half: what a scam call actually sounds like

Some calls will still get through, and the ones that matter are the scams. The good news is they nearly all follow the same small script, so once you know the shape of it, you'll spot it every time. A scam call almost always does three things: it arrives out of the blue, it rushes or frightens you, and it asks for something a real organisation never would. That's the pattern under all of them.

The disguises change but the con doesn't. The common ones doing the rounds in Australia:

• The "your computer is infected" call, claiming to be Microsoft or your internet company, talking you into installing software or letting them connect to your machine. Always a scam. This is the same trick behind the fake warning that pops up on screen, which we cover in the computer infected pop-up scam.
• The "ATO" or "myGov" call saying you owe a debt or face arrest. Government departments don't ring threatening you, and they never take payment in gift cards.
• The "Amazon" or "delivery" call about a suspicious order or a parcel problem, pressing you to confirm details or pay a fee.
• The bank call warning your account is under attack and urging you to move your money "somewhere safe." Your bank will never ask you to do that.

Notice what they share. Every one of them wants you rushed and afraid, because a calm person hangs up and checks, and a frightened person acts. Then comes the ask, for a payment, a code, remote access to your device, or money shifted to another account. The polish of the voice, the official-sounding name, none of it counts. The moment the call rushes you and asks for one of those things, you already have your answer.

The golden rules for a call you're not sure about

You don't have to work out who's really on the line. You only need these few habits, and they keep you safe without any technical knowledge:

• Hang up. You never owe a cold caller your time. Putting the phone down on a scammer isn't rude, it's the right move, and you're allowed to do it mid-sentence.
• Never press a number they tell you to. "Press 1 to speak to our team" often just confirms a live person answered and leads you deeper in.
• Never confirm that you're you. Don't read out your date of birth, your card number, or a code texted to you. A real organisation that rang you already knows who they called.
• Call the organisation back yourself, on a number you look up. This is the golden rule. Hang up, find the number on your bank card, your bill or their official website, and ring that, never the number the caller gave you. A genuine bank or government office will never mind you doing this. If anyone objects to you hanging up and calling back, that alone tells you it's a scam.

Those rules are the same for every kind of call. You don't judge who's calling, you judge what they're asking, exactly as you would with a suspicious email or text. If you want the wider version of this, our guide on how to spot a scam walks through the same tells across messages and pop-ups too.

If you've already given something away

First, don't be embarrassed. These calls are built by professionals to fool sharp, careful people, and they catch plenty of them. What matters now is speed, because acting quickly limits the damage:

• Gave card or bank details? Ring your bank straight away, on the number printed on your card, and ask them to stop the card.
• Gave a password? Change it, and change it anywhere else you used the same one. Do this from a different device if you let the caller onto the first one.
• Let someone connect to your computer? Disconnect it from the internet and have it checked properly before you use it again.
• Report it to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au. It helps warn others, and it's a good record if your bank needs it.

Acting in the first hour is often what turns a nasty scare into no loss at all.

The short version

You can't block every spam call, but you can turn most of them off and stay safe from the rest. Switch on "silence unknown callers," ask your phone company to block scam calls, and add your number to the free Do Not Call Register. Then, for anything that still gets through, remember the golden rule: hang up, and if it might be real, ring the organisation back on a number you looked up yourself. No genuine caller will ever mind you doing that. And if you'd like a hand setting any of this up, or you're just not sure about a call you had, that's exactly what we're here for. Tell us what happened and we'll sort it with you, plainly and patiently.