T-Mobile Launches 'Caller Verified' Tool to Protect Subscribers From Scammers

[jephrey]

I'm not sure why people get so upset about scam calls. I have a contact list. When a phone call comes in, I look at the name. If it comes through as a number I don't recognize, I immediately kick it over to voice mail. If it's important, the person will leave a message and I'll get back to them. If not, I don't worry about it.

I'm with ATT and I do the EXACT same thing. I have only accidentally answered a spam call once or twice in the last 5-10 years and they don't come in that often, only 2-3 a month.

But as it's been pointed out, this is tough if your phone is for work - especially if you're in customer service. I could push customers/suppliers for my work to voicemail but obviously not all jobs are the same.

 

[C DM]

I'm not sure why people get so upset about scam calls. I have a contact list. When a phone call comes in, I look at the name. If it comes through as a number I don't recognize, I immediately kick it over to voice mail. If it's important, the person will leave a message and I'll get back to them. If not, I don't worry about it.

It can be rather annoying to be interrupted/disrupted by a pointless call that you otherwise wouldn't need to even worry about at all.

 

[B4U]

AT&T has had an app called Call Protect for a very long time... 2 years? It's free, and it definitely works.

Only issue is, AT&T simply refuses to make that work with a fully compatible unlocked phone because they claim it needs VoLTE which my Xperia XZ2 premium supports.

 

[nburwell]

I do like their “scam likely” in the caller ID when I get a call. So this feature definitely is great additional step.

 

[radiologyman]

Any Iphone apps that are good at it?

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

I'm not sure why people get so upset about scam calls. I have a contact list. When a phone call comes in, I look at the name. If it comes through as a number I don't recognize, I immediately kick it over to voice mail. If it's important, the person will leave a message and I'll get back to them. If not, I don't worry about it.

Why would you want to be disturbed or bothered at all for someome you don’t even know and didn’t want calling you? Think of it like people who come to your door. Would you want people ringing your doorbell 5 times a day 7 days a week?

 

[jayducharme]

Why would you want to be disturbed or bothered at all for someome you don’t even know and didn’t want calling you? Think of it like people who come to your door. Would you want people ringing your doorbell 5 times a day 7 days a week?

I think back to the old landline days, before caller ID, when your phone would ring and you'd have no idea who it was. So you'd generally have to answer it to find out. To me, THAT was inconvenient. Glancing at my iPhone screen and tapping the power button is a small inconvenience compared to that. But yeah, not having nuisance calls at all would be nice.

 

[44267547]

I have received more spam calls in the last 4 months than I have in the last 3-4 years. And no, I didn't do anything that I know of to cause it.

I have my phone on silent 24/7 but my Apple Watch buzzes (which I like) when I get a call. Annoys the **** out of me that the iPhone will not give me an option to decline the call if screen is locked. At least my Apple Watch lets me decline it instantly.

Recently, I've been getting blasted with the - "Your social security checks are at risk if you don't call us right away!" As a 33 year old male, this is definitely a huge concern of mine (/sarcasm).

I have DND on 7pm-6am and only people on my contacts can call me. Considering turning it on full time - too bad I can't just do it for calls.

I pay Verizon enough $.... I really expect/hope they do something about this soon. And no, I'm not going to pay $9.99/mo for a service.

I share your experiences, I have received so many scam calls in the last year or so, and I don’t even release my phone number or subscribe to anyone that would be able to achieve it.

I really would like to see carriers and Apple collaborate together to combat this type of issue, and I don’t have a specific implementation how, but scam calls are so rampant and diverse today, they will do anything and use any method to obtain your information, rather it be a credit card, Social Security, even your mailing address.

I don’t want to see carriers turn this into a situation where they see profit, I want them to see this as a potential problem that has been growing as a trend, and what can they do to at least slow down these types of issues, even though they fully can never be stopped.

 

[macduke]

I have had good success using a combination of WideProtect, Nomorobo, and T-Mobile’s auto blocking. I use WideProtect for neighbor attacks which are numbers that look like yours. It’s easy for me because I have a phone number from where I grew up but I haven’t lived there in over a decade now so I can just block all numbers from my area code that start with the first three digits of my phone number. Nomorobo does a decent job handling the rest, along with T-Mobile’s auto blocking, and if one slips through I can report it to Nomorobo. I just wish Apple’s system-level blocking extended to voicemail.

 

[ugcop]

Same here. My AT&T line is getting flooded with "Microsoft" and "IRS" calls whereas my TMo line is not as bad.

Same here ATT line I get many , many more spam calls than the T-MOBILE line.

 

[Solomani]

I really hope Apple does not wait until iOS 13 for STIR/SHAKEN.

Apple's implementation will be SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED.

 

[fairuz]

Meanwhile, it looks like they’re selling your location data and it’s ending up where it shouldn’t.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...ollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile

First thing that came to mind. For both problems, I'll only believe it's fixed when I see it.

 

[gene731]

Good for T-Mobile. Hopefully it appears in iOS devices ASAP and spurs AT&T and VZW to add similar features.

Spam/scam calls are out of control.

Yes they are. I get a lot of calls from our area code plus the same 3 digit prefix that I have and they are all spoofed numbers. At first I answered them only to find out "Hello. this is Marriott hotels..." and I would call the number back only to get a normal person that had no clue what was going on so now I just hit decline. They won't leave a voice mail. We are with AT&T so I am also hoping that this spurs AT&T into action as well as Verizon
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AT&T has had an app called Call Protect for a very long time... 2 years? It's free, and it definitely works.

Thanks for the info on AT&T. Will check that out.

 

[EdT]

I don’t have a lot of trust in any phone company, mobile or land line. I think that they allow (encourage?) scammers and then sell customers ‘protection’ that is effective for only a short time. Then the cycle repeats-annoying unwanted calls, new app or service, a month or 2 of improvement and then back to the beginning.

 

[revmacian]

Good for T-Mobile. Hopefully it appears in iOS devices ASAP and spurs AT&T and VZW to add similar features.

Spam/scam calls are out of control.

Hopefully it will. One carrier sees a new feature become popular and then everyone wants to provide it as a marketing point.

 

[acctman]

no worries Verizon subscribers... a pay to use version of this service will be created shortly...

 

[zaphon]

Great approach for personal calls, but many of us use our phones for work... and I get many calls a day from colleagues and customers that are not (or not yet) in my contacts. I can't just push customers to voicemail.

I don't even answer my desktop phone at work unless I know who it is. I use voicemail to screen all my unknown calls. It's a choice, and you choose not to make it.

 

[EdT]

I don't even answer my desktop phone at work unless I know who it is. I use voicemail to screen all my unknown calls. It's a choice, and you choose not to make it.

Where I work people can and do get fired if a customer or vendor complains about not being able to reach someone in a timely manner. I am more in the technical support side but it’s not unusual for people that I have never spoken to before call me for help. I imagine a lot of sales and support people in a lot of businesses are in the same predicament.

 

[C DM]

I don't even answer my desktop phone at work unless I know who it is. I use voicemail to screen all my unknown calls. It's a choice, and you choose not to make it.

It's not like people have different jobs and different ways that things need to get done in relation to those.

 

[Steve.P.JobsFan]

T-Mobile's Scam ID and Scam Block are what keep me tied to them. Their coverage is good around where I am, but they're not the fastest carrier. AT&T is 6-10x faster in my town. However, every time I've left T-Mobile, I come right back within days because AT&Ts "Call Protect" solution is absolute trash compared to T-Mobile's offering. Even with an app like RoboKiller or NoMoRobo, it just doesn't compare.

T-Mobile doesn't get all the calls, especially because I've seen a giant increase in the number of "neighbour spoofing" calls I've received over the last 3 months... but T-Mobile's solution has been by far the best.

I hope T-Mobile rolls STIR/SHAKEN out to other devices quickly, that Apple doesn't drag out support for this until a new iOS release, and that AT&T and Verizon get off their laurels and implement this.

Verizon charges $3 a month for their "Call Filter" service that does what AT&T Call Protect and T-Mobile's Scam Block/ID do for free - pathetic. Somehow I wouldn't put it past Verizon to charge for STIR/SHAKEN because they're greedy b*stards. I don't get why anybody would willingly bend over for Verizon's nickle and diming. Sure, there are some places they really are the best option or the only option... but the key phrase there is some places.

 

[rjohnstone]

AT&T Call Protect is ok. Not perfect. Flags telemarketers and blocks known spam calls.It's the spoofed numbers that still get through.
I'd like to see T-Mobile's solution added to AT&T Call Protect to filter out the obviously spoofed phone numbers.
How the hell any carrier lets this happen is beyond me.

 

[ImAnAgent]

Unfortunately, it's not perfect as it's still letting spoofed calls get through. Just got one on my T-Mobile Note 9.

My AT&T XS Max using AT&Ts call protect catches all these calls.

 

[Mick-Mac]

This will just go on forever until scammers see any downside at all to their practices. For every million calls they make they get so many thousands of dollars - with effectively full impunity. They own mega-mansions and are living the dream. When caught, these parasites need to crushed in a manner that makes the rest of 'em think long and hard about what they're doing.. I don't see that happening though...

 

[Pirate515]

If STIR/SHAKEN is widely adopted, I suspect telemarketers and scammers will go back to using non-spoofed numbers like the good old days.

With non-spoofed numbers, they would be easy to catch. One of the reasons why they spoof numbers is because it's very difficult if possible at all to identify who's behind the scheme. I'm sure that FTC/FCC does try to take action when someone who's on DNC registry files a report; however, when number reported cannot be traced back to legit person/company and these complaints come in droves, there's no one to go after legally and a different approach is needed.

Not to mention that several reasons behind an explosion in spoofed robocalls is because VoIP has become cheaper and more accessible and VoIP vendors actually allow to configure any number to be relayed to recipient to be displayed on CID. I am sure that up until a few years ago spoofing was reserved for small number of legitimate businesses/causes such as doctor's offices, call centers, law enforcement, etc., but VoIP vendors pretty much said "screw it" and allowed it to all their customers.
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This will just go on forever until scammers see any downside at all to their practices. For every million calls they make they get so many thousands of dollars - with effectively full impunity. They own mega-mansions and are living the dream. When caught, these parasites need to crushed in a manner that makes the rest of 'em think long and hard about what they're doing... I don't see that happening though...

Yes, I'd say catch a few of them, then torture them using methods used in Medieval times by Spanish Inquisition, then execute them like dogs, all while recording and showing it to the rest of the world. Only a fear of long and painful death will probably make these scumbags think twice before doing this.

 

[genovelle]

T-Mobile has been Caller ID'ing scam calls with "Scam Likely" for a while now. That feature has been a real blessing.

When I first switched to Verizon I got those messages, but they want you to pay extra for it. It felt like I was being milked so I declined the service. I just don’t answer calls on my main line I don’t have saved. My Line2 service doesn’t have that problem and I’ve had that number for some time longer, which I feel is telling.
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I have received more spam calls in the last 4 months than I have in the last 3-4 years. And no, I didn't do anything that I know of to cause it.

I have my phone on silent 24/7 but my Apple Watch buzzes (which I like) when I get a call. Annoys the **** out of me that the iPhone will not give me an option to decline the call if screen is locked. At least my Apple Watch lets me decline it instantly.

Recently, I've been getting blasted with the - "Your social security checks are at risk if you don't call us right away!" As a 33 year old, this is definitely a huge concern of mine (/sarcasm).

I have DND on 7pm-6am and only people on my contacts can call me. Considering turning it on full time - too bad I can't just do it for calls.

I pay Verizon enough $.... I really expect/hope they do something about this soon. And no, I'm not going to pay $9.99/mo for a service.

To decline from your phone double click the power button. The first click silences the ringer if on. The second declines the call.