How to Reduce Inbound Spam Calls in Sparkforge

Spam calls eat agent time and inflate volume. A layered setup in Sparkforge identifies likely spam early, lets agents flag bad calls in one click, auto-quarantines repeat offenders, and uses a light IVR to deter bots, without blocking real customers.

The four layers

• Number Intelligence: network-level Spam Likely detection on inbound calls.
• Custom Disposition: agents tag calls as Spam in one click.
• DND Workflow: tagged numbers auto-quarantine for future inbound rings.
• IVR (optional): a Press 1 / Press 2 prompt repels bots and routes humans fast.

Step 1: Enable Number Intelligence

1. Go to Settings → Phone System → Additional Settings → Number Intelligence.
2. Check Gather Intelligence on Unknown Phone Numbers.
3. Save.

Spam Detection availability and pricing are per-lookup and vary by country. It's most effective in the U.S. Look for Spam Likely indicators on inbound call logs and supported dialer views to confirm it's working. Agency admins can set this as a default for new sub-accounts.

Step 2: Create the Spam call disposition

1. Go to Settings → Phone System → Voice → Custom Dispositions.
2. Click + Add Disposition.
3. Name it Spam call. Save.

Agents see this on the call end screen on web and mobile. Keep the label short and unambiguous.

Step 3: Auto-enable inbound DND for spam calls

When an agent marks a call Spam, this workflow blocks future inbound rings from that contact while leaving SMS and email free.

1. Create a workflow.
2. Trigger: Call Details.
3. Filters: Disposition = Spam call, Direction = Inbound (optional).
4. Action: Enable/Disable DND (Contact) → Direction = Inbound → Channels = Voice.
5. Optional: add an If/Else to skip DND when contact has a VIP or SafeList tag.
6. Save and publish.

Step 4: Optional IVR front-door filter

A minimal IVR deters robocalls and routes real callers in seconds. Keep it short to avoid friction.

2-option IVR template

• Say/Play: "To reach support, press 1. For new inquiries, press 2."
• Gather Input (DTMF): map 1 to support team, 2 to sales.
• Timeout/Invalid: repeat once, then voicemail or fallback agent.

Constraint: one phone number can be mapped to one IVR workflow at a time.

Build the IVR

1. Create a workflow with the Start IVR trigger.
2. In Filters, set the inbound number you want to screen.
3. Add Gather Input on Call with a Say a Message prompt: "Thanks for calling [Business]. To connect, press 1."
4. Set Number of Loops to 1, timeout 3-5 seconds, accept digit 1 only.
5. For digit 1, add Connect Call (IVR) to your users or a custom number.
6. For no input or wrong key, add a short "We didn't catch that" message and End Call (IVR) or route to voicemail.
7. Publish, then place test calls from a mobile and a landline.

Step 5: Validate call flow and timeouts

1. Open Phone Numbers → [Select Number] → Incoming Calls Settings.
2. Confirm the IVR or workflow association and ring timeout (around 20 seconds).
3. Place 3-5 test calls (unknown number, marked-spam number, VIP number) and verify the outcomes.

Step 6: Monitor and tune

Weekly: review call logs, disposition usage, IVR no-input rates, and contacts with inbound DND. Adjust prompts, timeouts, and agent training as needed. If your own outbound numbers get tagged Spam Likely, that's a separate caller-reputation issue.

VIP / SafeList and auto-clear DND

False positives happen. Two patterns keep important callers reachable:

• VIP bypass: tag the contact VIP or SafeList. In the DND workflow, add an If/Else: if tagged, skip DND.
• Auto-clear DND after X days: create a workflow with Trigger Contact DND (or scheduled logic), Wait 30 days, Action Disable DND. Optionally remove a Quarantined-Spam tag on review.

Mobile visibility

Spam Likely indicators show up on the Sparkforge mobile app v3.97.3 or later in call lists and call detail views.