Mobile phone users understand the epidemic of unknown calls and creepy messages. The challenging thing is that technology which is supposed to make things a lot easier, has made it somewhat difficult to detect these unknown callers. Suppose you look at your phone and see a number from your area, then you might assume that it’s someone you know. However, when you take the call, you realize it's a stalker, a marketer, or a scammer looking to have a chat about some issue or product. 

If you are receiving unknown calls, here are five things you can do to mitigate the problem:

1. Do not pick up the phone.

Receiving a call from a number that seems to be familiar may be enticing. You suspect that you overlooked adding it to your phone address book and that it might be someone important. In most situations, though, picking up the phone from an unknown number is not the best choice. First, if anyone is looking to confirm that the number belongs to you, hearing your voice or name will guarantee that they have the correct lead. And if you fail to listen to what they have to say after discovering who they are, they will also use the details to reach you later or sell them to anyone else.

2. Confirm the phone number

If you believe the number belongs to someone you know, use an online lookup tool like Nuwber to check the number after the ringing ends. Enter the phone number into the search box to see if it matches someone you know. If you spoke with the person and obtained company or contact information, you will use the information to determine if the person was calling from that business or not. It is also helpful if you are getting stalker texts.

3. Desist from giving out any personal information

Sadly, scammers use various techniques to obtain sensitive personal details such as social security numbers and credit card numbers from unsuspecting targets. Scams involving the IRS, advance payments, health, debt relief, computer repair, charity, and so on are examples of traditional frauds.

• In an advance fee scam, someone will call and tell you that you have won a contest or a draw and that you must pay a small fee in advance to receive your winnings. In most cases, there was never a contest, which is proof that it's a pure scam. 

• Scammers exploit the fact that some computer owners are unaware of pop-up advertising in computer repair scams. Scammers create commercials which inform consumers that there is an issue with their device and they must call a specific number to restore it.

• IRS-related scams are also very risky because scammers often request information about your identification and money.

• Most dating scams prey on seniors. Scammers create fictitious accounts and persuade people to give them money. 

• Debt collection scams often include letters and phone calls that attempt to persuade you that you owe money and need to settle it promptly, or else horrible problems will happen. 

• The identities of government departments such as the FBI and CIA are not immune to fraud. This kind of scam often takes the form of emails from addresses such as mail@cia.gov or admin@fbi.gov.

4. Have the number reported

Scam calls can be recorded in a variety of ways. Telephone scams can be reported online to the Federal Trade Commission, and caller ID spoofing can be reported to the Federal Communications Commission, or you can contact them directly to file your case. If you haven't already done so, register your phone number with the Do Not Call Registry to avoid telemarketing calls and sales promotion calls. The register will not be enough to block all the calls you get, but you can do something if you get many unsolicited marketing calls.

5. Make use of Call Blocking Apps

TrueCaller, RoboKiller, and Mr Number are only a few applications used for blocking numbers. These applications have a variety of features that can help you reduce the annoyance of unwelcome phone calls. TrueCaller, for example, allows you to identify spam callers, block people's calls and texts, and block robocalls. Aside from these applications, your smartphone has its own call blocking features. To block a phone number on an Android device, go to the Phone icon or contacts and pick the number to be blocked. Then, choose whether to ignore the call or add it to the blacklist. To block a call on an iPhone, tap the ‘I’ icon next to the digits, then tap the Block this Caller button at the bottom of the page.

 There are several precautions you should take to protect yourself from possible threat, identity fraud, and/or monetary damages, whether you're receiving weird texts from an unknown number or getting bombarded with robocalls. When you get a call like this, you can ignore it and run the number through a search directory to learn much more about the individual.

If you answer, ensure you do not provide any private details, no matter how genuine they seem to be. When we hear the name of a federal department, we always feel obligated to communicate with them. Keep in mind that organisations such as the IRS should not contact average citizens to request on-the-spot fees, irrespective of how much they owe. 

Before you enter an agreement with anyone over the phone, you should ask for a video chat with them first. This would help know if you’re dealing with a real person. Also, bring all available call blocking and detection software, such as the no-call list and fraud detection services. Finally, to avoid creepy messages and unwelcome phone calls, use one of the many applications available that do the job adequately for you.