Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
If you thought spam telephone calls that use audio-only were annoying, just wait until you hear about the latest spam wave. Users of Apple’s FaceTime are under siege, with some getting as many as 20 calls in a relatively short space of time.
As reported by Ars Technica, FaceTime spam calls are even more difficult to block and deal with than normal voice calls. The reason is that the spammer doesn’t just do single calls, instead, they add up to 31 numbers at a time into a group call.
That makes it especially difficult for the users to block, as FaceTime doesn’t have some of the protections that phone calls do on iOS.
READ MORE: This iPhone app lets you screen unwanted phone calls
You can’t set FaceTime to only receive calls from people in your address book, and you have to block every individual number in a group call to stop the call, and that does nothing about the spammer adding you to another group call with a different set of numbers.
One user on Apple’s support forums says they’ve blocked over 300 numbers in four days, a staggering amount of spam to deal with. That includes callbacks, as users dial back if they missed the original call notification. Ouch.
READ MORE: Is your own number spam-texting you? You’re not alone
There doesn’t appear to be any good way to combat the spam FaceTime calls at the moment. Disabling FaceTime completely means not getting calls from people you actually want to talk to. So does deselecting your phone number in the FaceTime settings under “where you can be reached.”
Still, until Apple provides an easier way to weed out these spam calls, turning off FaceTime until you actually want to use it might be the best course of action for now. I guess from now on, FaceTime calls from unknown callers should be treated like unknown phone calls, don’t answer, don’t call back.
Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- It’s happening, Apple is discontinuing the HomePod to focus on the mini
- iOS 14.5 could give iPhone users a way to download security updates separate from other updates
- Apple is going after a former employee for leaking confidential info to the media
- Apple is planning to stuff a bigger battery into the iPhone 13
Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News
