How to Manage Spam Calls and Block Numbers on Spruce

Potential Spam Communications on Spruce

Any working 10-digit number can call or text your Spruce phone number, so in the same way that it is normal to receive spam calls on your personal device, it is normal to receive spam calls on Spruce. Receiving spam calls or text messages is not indicative of any security or HIPAA risk. 

One common reason for spam calls or messages is because a purchased number was previously owned by someone else. In cases where a Spruce phone number was previously owned by someone else, we take precautions to minimize the disruption of any potential 'overlap.' Numbers are reserved for a minimum of two months before they are released to a new user. This is intended to give the number’s former owner enough time to update their records. Additionally, our telecommunication partner monitors the number of incoming phone calls during this time and may even extend the two-month reserve period until those call levels reach an acceptable rate.

Automatic Spam Prevention

To reduce robocalls, junk faxes, spam texts, and unwanted emails, Spruce helps identify and limit disruption from high-risk inbound communications.

Communications from senders identified as potential spam may be handled differently depending on the channel. For example, they may be prevented from ringing through, routed directly to voicemail, or delivered without generating a notification.

If a phone number, fax number, or email address has been flagged by a large number of Spruce organizations, it may be automatically identified as potential spam across the platform.

You can block specific senders to prevent future communications entirely. If a legitimate sender is being treated as spam, you can save their phone number, fax number, or email address as a contact to ensure future communications are treated as coming from a known contact.

Automatic Spam Prevention for Calls 

• The call will not ring through.
• The call may be sent directly to voicemail or follow your phone number’s unknown caller handling behavior.
• If a voicemail is left, it will appear in your inbox as usual.
• If no voicemail is left, the conversation will remain archived and will not create a notification for new activity. 
• The conversation will include the tag “InboundCall_SpamDetected” and display a system message identifying the call as potential spam. 

Automatic Spam Prevention for SMS, Fax, and Email

Messages from senders identified as potential spam are handled the same way across SMS, fax, and email:

• No notification is generated for new activity.
• If the conversation is new or unarchived, it will be marked as unread and remain unarchived.
• If the conversation is archived, it will remain archived and will not appear in the Inbox.
• The conversation will include a spam detection tag and a system message indicating the message was identified as potential spam:
  • SMS: InboundSMS_SpamDetected
  • Fax: InboundFax_SpamDetected
  • Email: InboundEmail_SpamDetected

Blocking Numbers & Email Addresses

You may experience spam calls, messages, or emails from a sender that has not yet been labeled by the system as spam. If this is the case, you can easily block specific phone numbers, fax numbers, or email addresses. After you block a sender, no additional communications will be delivered to your inbox from that sender.

After you block a phone number, if that number attempts to call you, they will hear a busy signal. If that number attempts to text you, the text will look sent from their end but will not be delivered to your Spruce account. You will not receive any notice of attempted calls/text messages in Spruce from a number that has been blocked. 

If you have archived the conversation with a phone number you have blocked, incoming calls from that blocked number will automatically remain archived and will not appear in the Inbox. If the conversation was not previously archived, you will see a record in the inbox, although the call will not ring through, and no voicemail will be recorded. The caller will also receive no indication that their number was blocked. 

If you attempt to call or message a blocked phone number, it will not go through and you will see an error indicating that the number is blocked.

Block or Unblock a Sender

You can block or unblock phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses using the same general steps.

From a conversation with an unsaved contact:

1. Open the conversation thread. 
2. Press Block & Archive from the unsaved contact banner. 

Once blocked, all conversations with that phone number, fax number, or email address will be archived. 

From a contact card:

1. Open the contact details.
2. Select the three-dot menu next to the phone number, fax number, or email address.
3. Select Block or Unblock.

Once blocked, the sender will be labeled as “Blocked” in the contact card.

From settings:

• Navigate to the block list for the communication channel:
  • Phone numbers: Settings → Phone System → Blocked Numbers
  • Fax numbers: Settings → Fax → Blocked Fax Numbers
  • Email addresses: Settings → Email → Blocked Email Addresses
• Then select Add to block a new sender, or
• Select Unblock next to an existing sender

Strategies for Spam Reduction

Beyond blocking phone numbers, there are additional ways in which you can attempt to reduce spam calls and/or lower the impact that these calls have on your daily workflows:

1. Register with the Do Not Call Registry. You can register your Spruce phone number with the Do Not Call Registry here. This is a government initiative designed to help reduce the number of unwanted phone calls to your phone number. 
2. Update your Unknown Caller Handling setting to screen and/or silence calls from unsaved contacts. Screened callers will hear a prompt and must press a digit to connect. Silenced calls will not ring through. To update this, navigate to your phone number's settings page. Learn more about this feature

Frequently Asked Questions

Is receiving spam calls on a Spruce number a security or HIPAA risk?

No, any working 10-digit number can call or text a Spruce number, so receiving spam is normal and not indicative of any security or HIPAA risk. 

How does Spruce automatically reduce spam?

Spruce's Automatic Spam Prevention identifies high-risk senders platform-wide and tags conversations with labels such as InboundCall_SpamDetected, InboundSMS_SpamDetected, InboundFax_SpamDetected, or InboundEmail_SpamDetected, routing flagged messages so they don't ring through or generate notifications. 

How does a provider block a specific number or email on Spruce? 

There are three ways: from the conversation banner (Block & Archive), from the contact card three-dot menu, or directly from Settings (Phone System, Fax, or Email sections) - the Settings path is the only option when no prior conversation with the sender exists. When a number is blocked, callers hear a busy signal and texts or faxes silently fail to deliver; any block can be undone at any time.