Block spam calls in New Zealand: Android and iPhone guide

Your phone lights up with a number you almost recognise — same area code, maybe even the same first digits as your own number. You answer, and it is a recorded voice about a parcel you never ordered, or a threat that your IRD account has been suspended. New Zealanders get a steady stream of these calls, and no single switch turns them off. But a layered approach — your phone's built-in settings, your carrier's tools, and a blocking app — can cut the daily disruption down to the odd labelled call you can ignore.

Know what you are dealing with

Not every nuisance call is the same, and the right response depends on the type:

• Robocalls: pre-recorded messages pushing fake prizes, parcels, or government threats. Almost all unsolicited robocalls to your mobile are scams or illegal marketing.
• Live telemarketing: persistent sales calls, sometimes from overseas call centres ignoring local rules.
• Neighbour spoofing: scammers display a number close to yours so you are more likely to pick up. The number on your screen proves nothing — spoofing software makes any number appear.
• Impostor calls: someone claiming to be IRD, your bank, the police, or a courier, demanding payment or personal details.

Because spoofers rotate numbers constantly, blocking one number at a time rarely solves the problem for long. The settings below work because they filter whole categories of calls, not single numbers.

Block calls on Android

On most Android phones sold in New Zealand:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Tap the three-dot menu and go to Settings.
3. Choose Blocked numbers to add numbers manually.
4. Look for Caller ID and spam (Google Phone app) and turn on See caller and spam ID plus Filter spam calls.

Google's Phone app flags suspected spam before you answer and lets you report numbers, which improves filtering for everyone. Samsung phones offer similar protection under Phone app → Settings → Block numbers, including an option to block calls from unknown numbers entirely. Check your manufacturer's menus, as the exact names vary.

Block calls on iPhone

On iPhones:

1. To block a single number, open Phone → Recents, tap the i button next to the number, scroll down and choose Block this Caller.
2. Manage the list any time under Settings → Phone → Blocked Contacts.
3. Turn on Silence Unknown Callers under Settings → Phone. Calls from numbers not in your contacts go straight to voicemail and appear in your recent calls, so genuine callers — a doctor's surgery, your child's school, a tradie — can still leave a message.

Silence Unknown Callers is the single most effective iPhone setting against spam. If you are expecting calls from unknown numbers, such as job hunting, you can toggle it off temporarily and rely on voicemail screening instead.

Use your carrier's spam tools

New Zealand's main mobile carriers — Spark, One NZ, and 2degrees — all operate spam and scam filtering on their networks and publish guidance on dealing with scam calls and texts. Log in to your carrier's app or account portal and check what is available:

• Network-level scam-call labelling or blocking, which flags suspicious calls before your phone rings.
• Options to report scam numbers directly to the carrier so they can be investigated and blocked network-wide.
• Advice pages that track the current scam scripts doing the rounds, which helps you recognise new variants early.

Carrier filtering improves constantly as scammers change tactics, so it is worth checking your account settings every few months rather than setting and forgetting.

Report spam and tighten the net

Reporting does more than vent frustration — it feeds the systems that protect everyone:

• Forward scam or spam texts to 7726 (SPAM), free of charge. The message is shared with the Department of Internal Affairs and mobile operators to investigate scams and block malicious senders.
• Report scam calls to Netsafe at netsafe.org.nz, New Zealand's online safety organisation. Netsafe accepts reports even when you did not fall for the scam, and your report helps warn others.
• If you lost money or gave away personal details, contact your bank immediately and report it to NZ Police as well.

Legitimate telemarketers operating in New Zealand must follow the marketing rules enforced by the Commerce Commission, so persistent unwanted sales calls from identifiable local companies can also be raised with the Commission.

Add a dedicated blocking layer

Built-in tools and carrier filters catch much of the noise, but spoofers rotate through huge pools of numbers. Call-blocking apps such as NoCall add a real-time layer: incoming calls are checked against continuously updated spam and scam databases, and likely spam is flagged or blocked before you pick up. For anyone getting several nuisance calls a day, this is usually the change you notice most.

A routine that works

1. Turn on your phone's spam filter: Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone, spam filtering on Android.
2. Enable whatever scam-call protection your carrier offers in your account settings.
3. Forward scam texts to 7726 and report scam calls to Netsafe.
4. Never confirm personal details on an inbound call — hang up and call back on the official number.
5. Add a blocking app for real-time coverage of new and rotating numbers.

None of these steps alone stops everything, but together they turn spam calls from a daily disruption into a rare, labelled, one-tap block.