AMARILLO, Texas(KAMR/KCIT) —A new study shows that spam texts and calls have jumped more than 500% since 2015, and that’s a little scary considering how much time we spend on our phones.

AT&T Director of Sales, Cory Cullers, has some ways to block some of the spam, protect yourself and test your cyber safety knowledge.

Cullers says to get some call-blocking software, which will reduce the number of spam calls you get. For AT&T customers, that comes standard with their program ActiveArmor. When it comes to texts, your phone most likely has an option to block spam texts. For Apple users, a “report junk” option should show up below the message and you can “report the sender” as well. For Android users, you can open the conversation, select “options”, and choose “details” then select “block”.

These methods will be helpful, but unfortunately won’t stop all spam texts or calls, so Cullers suggests that you don’t click on suspicious links via email or text unless you know for sure who the sender is, look for things like their number it was sent from or the email to see if it has extra numbers or letters that indicate it’s fake. Also remember that legitimate agencies like the IRS or your bank won’t call you and ask for personal information over the phone. If someone calls you or texts you from your “bank” or “electric company” you can avoid answering it, go to that company’s website and call their number and ask a representative if they called you or have an issue.

Whether you’re an AT&T customer or not, AT&T has a way to check your cybersecurity awareness and stay up to date on the latest scams, click here for more information.