T-Mobile Rolls Out Tools to Help Customers Avoid Scam Phone Calls

[macduke]

Glad to see this—especially as my grandparents are on my plan and are getting old enough that they are more susceptible to scammers. I very recently switched my three lines to T-Mobile for only $100/mo for unlimited everything, taxes and fees included. It has been pretty good so far. They haven't switched to the better 700MHz spectrum where I live, but where my grandparents are in Florida (and in KC the rest of the year) the service is great. Only real difference I've noticed so far is that the internet is a little slower and the customer support is a bit slower with people who seem less trained than Verizon. Sometimes I'll get a native english speaker and sometimes I won't. The website is also a little less intuitive and sometimes gives random errors, but they usually go away if I refresh. But overall it's not bad and it's not like I need to call customer service or use the website much beyond my initial setup.

So in the end I'm saving about $40/mo, I don't have to pay for activations each year on the iPhone Upgrade Program, and I also get a $450 VISA gift card (I think it was around $450, but I need to fill out the website to get it). The first year it will save me nearly $1000, and nearly $500/yr after that! I hope Verizon and AT&T are shaking in their boots because I really loved Verizon but this offer was just too good. T-Mobile has done a lot to increase the capability of their network over the past year, and with WiFi calling it fills in the gaps in the network nicely (like my work basement) in regions that don't have the new spectrum.

 

[DotCom2]

Or you could just use nomorobo. It seems to work really well for landlines and is now available for iPhone.

I have nomorobo on my landline and it's works pretty well, and it's free. I still have to hear the first ring though since it's the free version, but if I don't hear a ring after the first, then I know nomorobo caught it. It seems to work 95% of the time. At least where I'm at it does.
I didn't know it was now available on iPhone as well.
Will check into that.
Thanks for the head's up!

 

[Gasu E.]

Or you could just use nomorobo. It seems to work really well for landlines and is now available for iPhone.

According to the nomorobo website, it currently does not work with wireless carriers.

 

[reallynotnick]

I wonder if this is using Hiya, since they have partnered with T-Mobile in the past and also partner with Samsung and ATT.

 

[now i see it]

I recently got a call from my own number.

 

[diipii]

I use a British Telecom phone which blocks all spam calls.

 

[IJ Reilly]

According to the nomorobo website, it currently does not work with wireless carriers.

http://www.nomorobo.com/ios/

The downside is it costs $1.99 a month after the free intro period.

 

[npmacuser5]

Why not fix caller ID? Fix the tecnology at the front as opposed the back. Spoof Proof Caller ID

 

[Deeznuts.]

Will it block my wife's number? She's always trying to scam me out of money.

 

[dannyyankou]

No need to use services like this. If I get a call from a strange number, I dismiss it. If the call is important, they'll leave a voicemail.

 

[TechGeek76]

Really? What's the app/service called?

I've been using Callblock, bought it before it went to a monthly subscription. It works for most, but not all. Still get a few spam calls here and there.

This maybe?

https://www.att.com/offers/call-protect.html

 

[bollman]

Wow. Scam calls? That would be a novelty.
Here, it has gone so far as telemarketing having a hard time. Most people doesn't answer if they don't recognize the number or it has no caller id.
Scam calls are extremely rare, I think I've gotten 2 or 3 in the 20+ years I've had a mobile phone.
And, is Truecaller not available in the US?

 

[nutmac]

How so? AT&T got a similar service 3 months ago.

In fact, this service has a flaw. AT&T's version lets you see the blocked calls in an app, with optional notifications, so you can unblock false positives. Is there something similar here?

Isn't AT&T just using Hiya, a free app anyone can use and is known to be among the least effective call blocking solutions?

It remains to be seen how effective T-Mobile's solution will be, but unlike AT&T which requires that you install an app on iPhone or Android, T-Mobile's implementation works entirely within T-Mobile back-end.

 

[bollman]

Oh, and btw, most people don't use phones for calls, they never call at all. It's sms or nothing.

 

[SeaFox]

It requires some effort but I manage this manually. If the incoming number isn't in my contacts, I avoid answering. If it's legit, and important, they can leave a message. If not, I add it to my blocked callers list.

On my old Nokia feature phone, I could add callers to group lists on my phonebook. And I could set up ring profiles where the phone only rang for certain groups. So, if I made a group and added every contact to it I could conceivably create a "white list" and the phone would only ring when someone I knew called. All other calls whole be silent and end up sent to voicemail.

 

[displayblock]

T-Mobile warns that enabling Scam Block could potentially cause customers not to receive legitimate calls

As a T-Mobile customer, I get roughly 9 calls a month from legitimate people asking why I called them. This will not prevent scammers from spoofing my number and will likely make it difficult for me to call other T-Mobile customers.

Fantastic.

 

[ugcop]

On my old Nokia feature phone, I could add callers to group lists on my phonebook. And I could set up ring profiles where the phone only rang for certain groups. So, if I made a group and added every contact to it I could conceivably create a "white list" and the phone would only ring when someone I knew called. All other calls whole be silent and end up sent to voicemail.

I do something similar on iPhone. I have a silent ringtone. It is my default ringtone. All contacts have another ringtone. If it is not a contact it uses silent ring and then goes to voice mail. Contacts ring through. I use a distinctive alert tone for received voice mail if they leave one.

It takes a while to set it up mecause you have to set it up for each contact but after you finish it works great.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Brilliant. Normally, phone carriers are not allowed to collect information about who calls you. But with this and the terms it includes, T-Mobile can track who calls you, how long the calls are, and much more. Then they can sell that information to advertisers. Brilliant move to disguise it as a helpful product in this way.

 

[44267547]

Brilliant. Normally, phone carriers are not allowed to collect information about who calls you. But with this and the terms it includes, T-Mobile can track who calls you, how long the calls are, and much more. Then they can sell that information to advertisers. Brilliant move to disguise it as a helpful product in this way.

Do you have evidence supporting T-Mobile will sell your information?

 

[armandxp]

Glad to see this—especially as my grandparents are on my plan and are getting old enough that they are more susceptible to scammers. I very recently switched my three lines to T-Mobile for only $100/mo for unlimited everything, taxes and fees included. It has been pretty good so far. They haven't switched to the better 700MHz spectrum where I live, but where my grandparents are in Florida (and in KC the rest of the year) the service is great. Only real difference I've noticed so far is that the internet is a little slower and the customer support is a bit slower with people who seem less trained than Verizon. Sometimes I'll get a native english speaker and sometimes I won't. The website is also a little less intuitive and sometimes gives random errors, but they usually go away if I refresh. But overall it's not bad and it's not like I need to call customer service or use the website much beyond my initial setup.

So in the end I'm saving about $40/mo, I don't have to pay for activations each year on the iPhone Upgrade Program, and I also get a $450 VISA gift card (I think it was around $450, but I need to fill out the website to get it). The first year it will save me nearly $1000, and nearly $500/yr after that! I hope Verizon and AT&T are shaking in their boots because I really loved Verizon but this offer was just too good. T-Mobile has done a lot to increase the capability of their network over the past year, and with WiFi calling it fills in the gaps in the network nicely (like my work basement) in regions that don't have the new spectrum.

Was with ATT for 10 years. Switched in Feb. in FL and couldn't be happier. I only have one line and was paying upwards of $130 with grandfathered unlimited data, iPhone subsidy, and that was going up another $5 a month in March. Now paying $96 with unlimited and iPhone subsidy. 56 for plan and 30 a month for phone. Couldn't be happier. Free stuff every Tuesday....ATT wouldn't budge on my bill going up again for the 3rd time in less than two years. BYE!!! got 20% off my plan for life.....They paid off my old subsidy of $720, gave me another $110 off iPhone in rebate....John L. is blowing up the phone business and everyone is changing their plans

 

[NightFox]

Gonna have to be careful when my friend Sam Likely calls

 

[konqerror]

Isn't AT&T just using Hiya, a free app anyone can use and is known to be among the least effective call blocking solutions?

It remains to be seen how effective T-Mobile's solution will be, but unlike AT&T which requires that you install an app on iPhone or Android, T-Mobile's implementation works entirely within T-Mobile back-end.

Hiya also doesn't upload the names from your phonebook and give them out to the world.

No app is required for the AT&T service, you can manage it from online account management. The app just lets you view blocked calls and change the block list.

 

[nburwell]

Unless it's a number in my contacts or a local area code, I usually do not pick up and let those calls go to VM. If it's a legitimate call and they leave a message, I will call the person back.

Great feature to have though for us T-Mobile customers!

 

[Pirate515]

So I sign up online for some Auto Warranty quotes. My phone number is very old, thus having an area code in another state. I get calls daily now, from my area code from these warranty companies - nice trick they have in their bags.

I'm in the same boat as you, keep getting these car warranty calls almost every day, to add insult to injury, for a car that I no longer own in over 5 years. As of lately, whenever I have free time on my hands when they catch me, I always try to mess with them. First, I tried to get them to extend the warranty on my Ford Pinto. Then, I tried to get them to sell me warranty on my international tank collection (Abrams, Merkava and Armata). Occasionally, I resort at hurling death threats at them. That's my personal favorite, they threaten to report me to the police. I dare them to go ahead and also remind them if they do, they will have to reveal to the authorities who they are. That usually gets them off the phone right away, but sadly, only to call back again in short time period.
[doublepost=1490387166][/doublepost]

While this is great, I feel like these types of services are always one step behind. Scammers are always using different and fake numbers. I'm not sure if it's crowd sourced (allow others to flag numbers as scam/junk) and maybe it updates like that? Still a great implementation that all cell companies need to be doing.

Not sure if that's crowdsourced, but it probably should be. In fact, one of the things that carriers could do is create a uniform system of reporting these kinds of calls and then add that functionality to future versions of major mobile OS's such as iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, etc. Something like add a button in call history to report a number, and once carrier receives 1,000 or so complaints about the same number, they block it automatically and other customers either do not receive calls from that number at all or it gets flagged appropriately when they do receive these calls.

 

[brianvictor7]

Any tool would be welcome (though I'm with Verizon). The scam calls are out of control. I get at least one a week and I'm an unlisted number :/ The problem is the scammers seem to have an endless supply of numbers, many of them local.