‘Spam Calls’ becomes Movistar’s fastest-adopted feature, with 1.2 million activations

- Since the service was launched in March this year, Movistar has identified 166 million spam calls and blocked more than 15 million at customers’ request, after they activated the blocking feature to prevent these calls from reaching their mobile phones, at no extra cost and with no installation required.

- Telefónica was also the first operator to implement regulatory measures against caller ID spoofing and has blocked more than 241 million fraudulent voice calls since the Ministerial Order came into force in March 2025.

Movistar has reached a new milestone with ‘Spam Calls’ (Llamadas Spam), the feature launched last March to protect users from unwanted calls, with 1.2 million lines now having proactive call blocking activated by customers.

‘Spam Calls’ has therefore become the fastest-adopted service ever launched under Telefónica’s commercial brand, reflecting users’ growing concern about unwanted interruptions and the need for tools that enhance their security and peace of mind in their everyday mobile use.

With ‘Spam Calls’, Movistar automatically identifies and flags communications on customers’ devices that may be considered unwanted, including spam calls, calls displaying spam-like patterns or calls already reported as a nuisance by other customers. Users therefore receive an on-screen warning whenever an incoming call shows signs of potentially being unwanted.

In addition, customers can use the service to activate full blocking of spam calls through the Mi Movistar app, the telephone customer service channel or Movistar stores, preventing these calls from reaching their mobile phones altogether.

Since ‘Spam Calls’ was launched on 16 March this year, Movistar has identified 166 million spam calls and blocked more than 15 million at the request of customers who activated the blocking feature so that these calls do not even ring on their mobile phones.

Laura Otero, B2C Director at Telefónica Spain, said: “Through a clear digital protection strategy, we continue to strengthen our customers’ security, giving them greater security, peace of mind and confidence at no additional cost and with no installation required. With ‘Spam Calls’ activated on 1.2 million lines in just seven months, we reaffirm our commitment to being the best gateway for citizens to access digital technologies, with the best network and an ever-growing range of better services.”

Blocking fraudulent calls to strengthen digital security

‘Spam Calls’ complements the measures Telefónica has been implementing since March 2025 to block malicious fraudulent calls at network level, including calls using fake or manipulated phone numbers, in line with Ministerial Order TDF/149/2025, aimed at combating telephone fraud in Spain.

Telefónica was the first operator to implement these anti-spoofing measures, ahead of the regulatory deadlines.

Since the Ministerial Order came into force in March 2025, Telefónica has blocked more than 241 million fraudulent voice calls and more than 28 million fraudulent SMS messages.

(*) The photograph accompanying this press release is from Getty Images and was provided to Telefónica, S.A. Use is authorized solely to illustrate this press release. No other use is permitted.