Carriers
Turn on your carrier’s free spam call blocking
The short answer
All three big U.S. carriers block or label spam for free before it reaches your phone, but you may need to switch it on. Verizon: Call Filter in the Verizon Protect app. AT&T: spam call blocking in the ActiveArmor app (not on by default). T-Mobile: Scam Block by dialing #662#. The FCC recommends using your carrier’s tools together with your phone’s own.
Checked on the carriers’ support pages, October 2026 · Updated October 18, 2026
- Time
- 5 minutes
- Cost
- Free tiers
- Carriers
- Verizon, AT&T, T‑Mobile
- Stops
- Known spam, on the network
Verizon: Call Filter
Free on standard monthly and prepaid plans: spam detection, a spam filter, a log of spam and blocked calls, and spam reporting.
Open the Verizon Protect app (Call Filter has moved there) or My Verizon.
Go to Services > Call Filter > Manage > Spam & category filters and turn on Spam filter.
- Verizon Protect
- Services
- Call Filter
- Spam filter
Choose how much to filter: High risk only, High and medium risk, or All risk levels.
From the makers of this guide
Want the calls screened, not just silenced?
PhoneShield answers your calls first. Known scam numbers are refused before your phone rings, the people you know ring straight through, and everyone else is asked who they are and why they’re calling, so your doctor and the delivery driver still reach you.
AT&T: ActiveArmor
Free with every AT&T wireless plan: fraud and spam call blocking, plus security alerts.
Open the AT&T ActiveArmor app and go to Calls & Texts > Calls > Call Routing.
- ActiveArmor
- Calls & Texts
- Calls
- Call Routing
Fraud calls are blocked automatically. Set Spam calls to Block or Voicemail (or choose by category).
Turn on Always allow contacts, and keep your voicemail box set up.
T-Mobile: Scam Shield
Free: Scam ID labels suspected scams "Scam Likely" (on by default), and Scam Block can stop them ringing.
Dial #662# from your phone to turn on Scam Block. #787# checks its status; #632# turns it off.
Or open the T-Life app > Manage > Scam Shield and turn on Scam Block (prepaid lines use #662#).
Beyond this setting
What else helps
Forward spam texts to 7726
On any U.S. carrier, forward a spam text to 7726 (SPAM) so your carrier can block the sender.
Stop spam texts →Pair it with your phone’s settings
Carrier filters catch known spam on the network; your phone’s screening catches the new numbers they miss.
iPhone steps →Got a specific number?
Check who’s been reporting it
See how often people reported a number to the FTC, what the calls were about, and what to do, at isthisnumberascam.com.
Questions
What people ask
Do carriers block spam calls for free?
Yes. Verizon Call Filter, AT&T ActiveArmor and T-Mobile Scam Shield all have free tiers that block or label spam. Paid upgrades add caller ID for unknown numbers and more controls.
Is AT&T spam blocking on by default?
Fraud calls are blocked automatically, but AT&T says spam call blocking isn’t: set it in ActiveArmor > Calls & Texts > Calls > Call Routing.
How do I turn on T-Mobile Scam Block?
Dial #662# from your T-Mobile phone, or turn it on in the T-Life app under Scam Shield.
Sources
Checked against
Every step is checked against the official instructions. Menus change with updates; tell us if one has moved.