Who Calls
Rating on Google Play - 4.8
Rating on AppStore - 4.6
What it can do:
- determines the incoming number;
- warns about spam and fraud;
- allows you to add phone numbers to unwanted numbers and block incoming calls from them;
- can work without the Internet and in roaming.
How much does it cost: free. But to disable advertising in the application, receive information about numbers without the Internet, block certain categories of spam and protect outgoing calls (warns you if you call back scammers) you need to pay 129 rubles per month or 999 rubles per year.
Positive feedback:
Negative review:
Download on Google Play and App Store.
How to block push notifications
Such spam mailings have nothing to do with SMS messages, but can be displayed on the smartphone screen at any time and accompanied by a sound signal. The reason for such mailing is some of the sites and applications that the user uses. Push notifications can be very annoying as they often contain advertisements.
Interfering notifications can be turned off very quickly. To do this, you must follow these instructions:
- Open the settings and select the Applications tab;
- Find a program that constantly sends push notifications;
- Go to the Application Notifications section;
- Next, you should uncheck the Enable notifications item;
- Save the changes made.
To deactivate notifications from sites, you need to go to the settings of the browser you are using. Let's look at how to do this using Google Chrome as an example.
- Go to browser settings. These are three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
- Select the section “Site Settings” - “Notifications”.
- They study the entire list of sites that are allowed to send notifications in the browser. Next, they find and disable unnecessary services.
In this way, you can easily get rid of annoying notifications without uninstalling the programs themselves. But here you need to understand that very useful information can come along with advertising. Before disabling Push notifications, you need to carefully study the program to be sure that it only sends advertising.
Push notifications often start to bother the user after downloading various games. It is recommended that you carefully read reviews from other users before installing a game.
Truecaller
Rating on Google Play - 4.5
AppStore rating: 4.5
What it can do:
- blocks spam calls and SMS messages;
- identifies unknown numbers;
- allows you to record calls;
- there is messaging with friends and relatives.
How much does it cost: free only number identification and spam blocking. Other options cost RUB 59–6,490 depending on the connection period.
Positive feedback:
Negative review:
Download on Google Play and App Store.
Find a deposit and not worry that the money will be stolen
Deposit calculator
Do not call me
Rating on Google Play - 4.5
What it can do:
- blocks numbers located in the general database and hidden numbers;
- can add numbers to the “black” list;
- allows you to block all incoming messages except your contacts.
How much does it cost: basic functions are free, some - 99–499 RUR depending on the connection period.
Positive feedback:
Negative review:
Download on Google Play.
Call Blocker
Rating on Google Play - 4.3
AppStore rating: 4.5
What it can do:
- identifies unknown phone numbers;
- automatically blocks robocalls, advertisements and spam messages;
- allows you to create a personal “black list” of numbers;
- can set a schedule when your phone will not receive calls.
How much does it cost: basic functions are free, premium (no advertising, information about profile viewers, 30 requests for contact information per month) - 108–1392 ₽ depending on the connection period.
Positive feedback:
Negative review:
Download on Google Play and App Store.
How to fight spam
Spammers violate several laws at once: on personal data, on advertising and on communications. Violation of them is fraught with administrative liability, that is, a fine. Compensation can only be claimed in the event of damage. For example, a person became very nervous because of spam calls, which led to health problems. In order to file a complaint about illegal advertising calls, you need to record the conversation on a voice recorder, and then obtain a statement from your mobile operator with details of the calls.
A step-by-step algorithm for filing a complaint regarding illegal advertising has been published on the website of the Federal Antimonopoly Service fas.gov.ru. The complaint must be accompanied by a voice recording of the conversation with the spammers and an account statement issued by the mobile operator employees. In order to speed up the process of considering the case, it is worth adding to the text of the application an agreement on disclosing the confidentiality of communications. The Antimonopoly Service is obliged to consider the complaint and respond to it within a month.
Yandex - with Alice
Rating on Google Play - 4.2
AppStore rating: 4.7
What it can do:
- identifies unknown phone numbers;
- can add numbers to the “black” list.
This is a universal application where caller ID is only one of many options. There are more than five million phone numbers in the search database. The application also has a built-in messenger for communication, a food delivery service, Yandex.Ether, news, Alice, weather, stock exchange rates, Zen and a service for searching for discounts in Edadil stores.
How much does it cost: free.
Positive feedback:
Negative review:
Download on Google Play and App Store.
How to protect your phone from spam using operator services
Many Russian operators have spam blocking services. All major operators offer this option for free.
On MTS
MTS has a free Antispam service. To use this option, you must follow these instructions:
- The received advertising SMS message is forwarded without making changes to number 6333. In response, the subscriber receives a response message from number 6333 where the number or name of the sender of the newsletter advertisement will be requested.
- Send an SMS message with the sender's number or name to 6333 within 10 minutes after receiving the request.
Immediately after sending data about the spammer, this number will be blocked at the operator level.
By the way, the MTS operator itself also often sends advertising mailings to subscribers. To block spam messages, you must enable the Content Blocking service. To do this, dial the code *111*374# and then press the call button.
On Beeline
The main SMS spam that Beeline subscribers have to block is mailing from the company itself. These could be messages like this:
- Informational in nature. A complete list of all USSD codes with which you can disable them can be found on the operator’s website;
- . Provides for receiving various infotainment messages. This includes horoscopes, weather forecasts, jokes and other useful information.
Beeline does not have a service for blocking advertising mailings. Yes, but it only blocks calls. If you use the services of this operator, then it is better to block spam mailings on your smartphone using special applications.
On Megafon
MegaFon subscribers can block spam mailings in two ways.
- Forward the received spam message without changes to 1911. The operator will automatically block the number of this sender for you. It is worth considering that the service is completely free.
- They use a special service “SMS control”. On your smartphone, dial the symbol combination *903# and then press the call button. After this, a list of the last ten numbers from which SMS messages were received appears on the screen. Select the number from which the spam was sent and add it to the blacklist, following the instructions that appear on the screen.
MegaFon is very disorderly in terms of mailings. If necessary, you can easily unsubscribe from all operator mailings.
On Tele2
The Tele2 operator has a free Antispam service that allows you to block the sending of spam messages. This service is designed even better than that of MTS. To block an unwanted number from which SMS messages are sent, you need to send a message to number 345. In the body of the letter write the phone number from which the advertising mailing is sent. In addition to the number, you can also simply specify the subscriber's name.
Many clients of taxi services are faced with the fact that they are bombarded with SMS messages from unknown numbers. This is due to the fact that dishonest company owners resell ready-made databases of telephone numbers to enterprising businessmen.
Are call blockers safe?
Information security experts interviewed by Sravni.ru warn that not all call blocking applications are safe. Thus, a consultant at the Information Security Center, Alexander Gon, says that such applications can collect the user’s personal data: call history, contact list, email addresses and others. The composition of the information depends on the access that the device owner grants to the application. Then this data can be transferred to third parties, for example, it can end up in the databases of other applications or it can be sold to unscrupulous advertisers or scammers.
In his opinion, the risks associated with providing a dubious application with access to personal data are higher than the risk of being deceived by a fraudster. “People can independently counter calls from scammers and not succumb to their manipulation, but exploring the functions of a mobile application and tracking its every update is a non-trivial task for ordinary users,” he believes. Those who still decide to install the application need to check it through a special ImmuniWeb Mobile App Security Test scanner, be sure to study the user agreement and not give it access to personal data.
As Alexey Drozd, head of the information security department at SearchInform, explains, applications work on the principle of “checking the incoming number in the database.” The database is compiled by the users themselves, and harmless numbers may be included there if, for example, competitors complain about them. The application can also connect to the database of a large telecom operator or bank. But this is a paid service, so developers of such services can make money through advertising or by selling user data. At the same time, even the best applications are not able to detect number spoofing - when a call is made from one phone number, and upon an incoming call the user sees another, say, the phone number of his bank.
Alexey Drozd advises using 2GIS or Yandex number identification services, since they have huge databases of their own phone numbers. But they will not save you from spoofing your phone number, the expert warns.
SMS messaging: spam or a reliable marketing tool?
Mobile marketing has long and confidently entered our lives. Some earn money from it, others receive up-to-date consumer information thanks to it. Life without a mobile phone today is, paradoxically as it sounds, more like the plot of a science fiction film than reality. Thanks to our mobile phone, we know everything: from the weather to stock quotes, if necessary. It is obvious that SMS services have become perhaps the most important tool for promoting goods and services.
Why do many people perceive SMS messaging as spam? It’s simple: in Russia, even a good idea is rarely immediately applied correctly. We have learned to distinguish spam, but we cannot distinguish unsigned SMS from it. Their fate is similar - they go into the trash.
It’s worth understanding how mobile marketing differs from messaging. Mobile marketing is SMS notifications about promotions, loan payments, advertising, and so on. It should be noted that SMS mailing sent to a mobile phone seems to be a more effective advertising tool than, for example, street distribution of flyers.
SMS sending via the Internet is the most profitable advertising. In addition, its price is not bad at all: our company can offer you pleasant bonuses and discounts when you sign up for mass SMS messages. We can also offer different programs for their use, as well as SMS gateways that allow you to send messages as quickly as possible.
Anti-spam programs are now gaining considerable popularity. Irritability towards SMS from unfamiliar numbers among not very educated citizens has led to the fact that these programs, as they say, cut from the shoulder and block everything they can reach. Often simple information messages were targeted. We can assure you that mailings made with our help will reach the right address. Every SMS will reach a potential client. Since we have been working for a long time and officially, we have already come to an understanding with many telecom operators.
Remember the main thing: advertising via SMS is not spam, it is a way to interact with the client, no matter where he is. Not only the sender benefits, but also the recipient. If you have thought through your SMS advertising campaign correctly, then you are telling the person what he wants to know. At least half of the people who receive your SMS will come to the specified address and take advantage of your offer.
