Step 1
Do not click. Do not reply.
A spam text message with a link, shown on a phone
Reading it is fine. Clicking, calling, or replying is not. Replying — even "STOP" — tells the sender your number is live and worth more.
Security & Privacy / Security
Spot and Avoid Phishing Scams, Text Spam and Robocalls
The five tells that give away a scam message, plus how to cut down spam texts and robocalls and what to do if you already clicked.
The 30-second fix
If a message creates urgency — act now, account locked, package held, pay a fee — stop and contact the company using the number on your own card or statement, never the number in the message.
If that sorted it, you are done. If not, keep reading — the rest takes about 10 minutes.
Before you start
- Your phone, with a few minutes to change settings
- A note of which accounts you actually have
You do not need to answer a suspicious call to verify it, and you do not need to click a link to check whether it is real.
The five tells
Scams change their clothes constantly, but the shape stays the same. If you learn these five, you will catch the overwhelming majority of them.
- Urgency. Act now, within 24 hours, your account will be closed.
- A link or a number you did not ask for. The message wants you to click or call something it provides.
- A request for a password, code, or card number. Real companies do not ask for these in a message.
- A small fee to release something. A held package, a prize, a refund that needs a payment first.
- Almost-right details. A slightly wrong sender address, a logo that is off, a greeting that is generic.
Any one of these is enough to stop and check.
The steps
Step 2
Verify through a channel you chose
The phone number printed on the back of a bank card
If it claims to be your bank, call the number on the back of your card. If it claims to be a delivery company, go to the carrier's website by typing the address yourself. Never use the contact details the message gave you.
Step 3
Turn on unknown-caller filtering
iPhone settings showing Silence Unknown Callers
- iPhone: Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers.
- Android: Phone app > Settings > Caller ID & spam > filter spam calls.
Real callers will leave a message. Robocallers almost never do.
Step 4
Report rather than engage
A phone showing a message being reported as junk
- Spam texts: forward to 7726 (that spells SPAM), then block the sender.
- Calls and emails: report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Reporting is not just for you — it is how the filters learn.
Step 5
Watch for the "helpful" tech call
A caller claiming to be from a computer company
A call saying your computer has a virus, or that they are from Microsoft or Apple, is always a scam. No real company calls you about a virus you did not report. Hang up.
If they ask you to install a program so they can "fix" it, hang up immediately. That program is how they get into your bank.
If you already clicked
Do not panic, and do not wait. In order:
- Change the password for the account involved — and for your email if it is the same one.
- Turn on two-factor for that account. See the password guide.
- If you gave card details, call the number on the back of the card and freeze it.
- If you installed something, remove it and run a malware scan — see speeding up a slow computer.
- Report it. ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and tell your bank.
The faster you move, the less it costs. There is no shame in it — these messages are built by professionals to catch careful people.
Did it work?
- Unknown-caller filtering is switched on
- You can name the five tells without looking them up
- Spam texts are being reported rather than replied to
- You know the phone number on the back of your bank card
Still not working?
- If you already gave out a password, change it immediately and turn on two-factor — start with email.
- If you gave card details, call the number on the back of the card and ask them to freeze it.
- If you installed something they told you to install, remove it and run a malware scan.
- Report the message: forward spam texts to 7726 (SPAM), and report calls and emails to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If none of that helped, it is usually a hardware or account problem rather than a settings one — and that is exactly the kind of thing worth handing to someone for an hour. Book a session →
Still stuck? I can take it from here.
If the steps above did not do it, that is what I am here for — remote, flat rate, plain language. You watch everything I do.
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Public records, reported plainly · What phishing actually is, in plain words
By ohgeeceee
Published 2026-10-04
Last verified 2026-10-04
Sources FTC — how to recognize and report scamsCISA — avoid social engineering and phishing