- 24 Aug 2023
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Call Blocking & Spam Prevention
- Updated on 24 Aug 2023
- 2 Minutes to read
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Dialpad offers spam prevention measures for inbound calls and faxes. It uses an automatic spam blocking system based on the spam score of incoming calls. Calls with a spam score of 100 are automatically blocked. Users can also customize their spam settings to prevent certain types of callers from reaching them. They can choose to send calls to voicemail or directly to the spam folder, receive real-time transcriptions of voicemails, or have callers state their names before being connected. Dialpad provides a feature to view interactions flagged as spam and allows users to unmark them if necessary. Additionally, users can manage blocked contacts and numbers through the Dialpad app.
Dialpad uses both an automatic spam blocking system, which applies to any call or fax entering the platform, and user-level settings that provide more granular control over how calls and faxes to your Dialpad number are handled.
Let's take a look at call blocking and spam prevention in Dialpad.
What does this apply to?
Automatic Spam Blocking
Dialpad relies on the spam score tied to inbound calls to determine whether or not to allow them to reach an individual user. Inbound calls with a spam score of 100 (the highest possible) are automatically blocked from reaching users in Dialpad.
Reliable third-party sources feed information to Dialpad on each inbound call, declaring the spam score.
If a caller is being sent to spam due to our automatic spam prevention, adding them as a contact will prevent them from being blocked.
Custom Spam Blocking
Users can also set individual parameters regarding spam calls to their Dialpad account.
To configure your Spam Settings, head to Dialpad.com:
- Select Your Settings
- Select Call Handling & Voicemail
- Navigate to Call Blocking & Spam Prevention
Here, you can prevent certain types of callers from ringing you directly and choose what happens when they do.
Choose whether or not to prevent calls from anonymous callers, callers already not in your Contacts list, and callers with a high spam score.
If you opt-in to prevent any of these calls, you'll see these options for call handling:
- Send to voicemail and directly to the Spam folder — no notification:
- Calls will not ring your devices; missed calls and voicemails will be sent to the spam folder in your inbox automatically.
- Send to voicemail, but show me a real-time transcription:
- Calls will not ring your devices; if the caller leaves a voicemail, you'll see the transcript of the message.
- Play caller's name when I pick up:
- Callers will be asked to state their names in order to be connected.
- Callers hear an IVR that says, 'Hello, please state your name after the tone, and Dialpad will try to connect your call' before ringing your devices.
- Upon picking up, you'll hear, 'Hello, [name] is trying to reach you via Dialpad; press 1 to accept this call'.
- Does not apply to callers already in your address book).
Blocked SMS messages will not receive a notification that their message was blocked regardless of the settings (above).
Any changes will immediately take effect in the Dialpad app.
View Spam Interactions
To view interactions flagged as spam, head to your Dialpad app:
- Navigate to Inbox
- Select Spam
Here, you'll see a list of calls and faxes marked as spam.
If the caller left a voicemail, you can listen to it, or read the transcript.
Un-mark as Spam
If an interaction appears as spam but isn't, Dialpad makes it easy to unmark the interaction to ensure it is not flagged again.
To unmark an interaction as spam, head to your Dialpad app:
- Navigate to your Inbox
- Select Spam
- Select the drop-down menu beside the desired contact or number
- Select Not Spam
Manage Blocked Contacts & Numbers
To manage blocked contacts and numbers, head to your Dialpad app:
- Select Contacts
- Select Blocked
- Select the name of the blocked contact/number
- Select Unblock from the banner at the top of the conversation thread, or select Unblock contact from the contact profile on the sidebar
Visit this Help Center article to learn more about blocking a number.