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Verizon Launches Free Version of Call Filter Service for Blocking Spam Calls
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Just let the receiver bill the telecom that provides the number service. That would likely be a faster solution.
no caller id isn't the problem.. these scammers spoof their numbers.
what we need is an option to block VOIP calls. i don't communicate with 1 person who uses a VOIP service, and if they did then i could whitelist them.
According to Verizon, iPhones can only use the service if they are purchased from a Verizon directly and not unlocked from apple or other carriers, which I say is ******** since the phone from Apple is the SAME DAMN PHONE.
The first bit of info that actually leads me to entertain switching carriers....
Regards, splifingate
T-Mobile does this as well. The free version will state a call is a "suspected spam". You can pay a monthly free to get extra features as well. Probably more details/info on such calls? (I don't know since I never bothered to look into it).
Sometimes I don't answer even if the number is in my contacts list. I figure I have the phone for my own purposes, and anyone else can leave a message. Or txt me. In fact, I would rather they txt me. I hate talking on the phone.
I do the same, for tired of it
Though sometimes I get super curious if it is someone I’d know — oh well
All you need is the free app from Verizon. I’d rather have some service than no service. As a long time Verizon customer, I welcome the App/Service.
What a scam! The large telecoms are allowing the call spoofing and telemarketers to proliferate and they turn around and try charging the consumer additional money to "help prevent" it now??? LOL–what a bunch of asshats.
It's sad, that this needs to be addressed this way. That should be handled better by the authority rather than providers.
That's easy to say... when is it VoIP? The same provider may offer regular landlines and VoIP services. You would need to score providers based on their percentage of reported calls. Basically the same as email server are being handled when it comes to spam mail detection.
Thank you, this was one piece of the puzzle for me.
It seems you have to hop through the steps in a particular order. I started by downloading the app. Didn't work.
Then I went to Verizon's website, using the link from the article, and clicked on the "Get it now" button. On the resulting page, trying to enable it got something like, "none of your devices/plans are supported". As you suggested, scrolling down this page through the various services to the section for "Call Filtering", and using the drop down to pick "Call Filter Free" worked. This got it turned on, after authorizing a $0 "purchase" to add it to my account.
Went back to the app and it suddenly had much more information displayed. Still needed to be enabled in "Settings -> Phone -> Call Blocking & Identification". Except... Verizon's "Call Filter" app wasn't listed there.
To hit all the bases, I deleted the Call Filter app, rebooted my iPhone 8, and reinstalled the Call Filter app. And it said, on startup, something to the effect of "checking your subscription", and started up. This time when I went to "Settings > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification", now the choice was there to enable Verizon's "Call Filter" app. And, after doing that, opening the Call Filter app says, "You're protected" up at the top.
So, seems to work, but you have to say "mother may I" at all the right times.
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Caller ID is free... the enhanced caller ID costs extra.
Telemarketers are blocked on the free version.
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This is just a total sham. Caller ID spoofing is something happening over the carrier’s network and that’s where it should be identified and stopped, not after the call is connected leaving it to the customer to deal with it. Spam filtering for email has been handled on the server side pretty effectively for more than a decade. This just smells like the carriers don’t want to lose the revenue they enjoy from spammers placing untold number of calls over their networks and at the end of the day still leave it to the end user to deal with it
With an add on app that’s crippled unless you pay Verizon for the full version - and even then there’s no way of knowing how effective it is.
With an add on app that’s crippled unless you pay Verizon for the full version - and even then there’s no way of knowing how effective it is.
Rather than assigning motivations to companies you don't like, maybe consider that they've been working on the STIR/SHAKEN infrastructure, and finally have it working, and that's why the carriers are "suddenly" offering these filters.
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I just enabled it on my iPhone 8, which was purchased directly from Apple.
Nice idea but doesnt work all the time. For example, you're waiting for a call back from a doctor but you dont pickup because you dont recognize the number. Then, when you try to call the doctor back you're back in the doctors call back line...
I finally got this to work. I deleted the Call Filter app and the went into the My Verizon app. I had it enabled on all the devices, and then clicked on the "Setup Call Filter" button, which took me to the app store. I downloaded the Call Filter app, and then went through the steps on the Call Filter app, and it worked.
Yah like repealing net neutrality is
Hence the bonding. No bond-no access.
What international agency do you believe has the ability to enforce this bonding process for basically every human on the planet?
Here's a better solution than these stupid filters. AT&T has one too, it has a lot of false positives. Spectrum, for example always says it's Spam Risk, even though they are just calling about my bill or support. (I have 45 spectrum accounts I manage).
So Phone Companies listen up!
CALL CAPTCHA
If it's not in my address book, call gets forwarded to a Captcha. Once they solve the captcha, the call comes through. It could be simple, like: Hello, this call requires that you are a human. What is 5+3. Type your answer now: 8. Thanks. Your number has been whitelisted.
Boom. All robocalls will be gone. Operators will have to constantly verify, slowing them WAYY down, and they won't be able to keep using fake Caller ID numbers because they won't be verified.
Next, we need Caller ID Verification using something similar to SPF for DNS. Basically, in order to use caller ID, they will have to call you back and verify you own the number.
This would be very easy to implement.
So Phone Companies listen up!
CALL CAPTCHA
If it's not in my address book, call gets forwarded to a Captcha. Once they solve the captcha, the call comes through. It could be simple, like: Hello, this call requires that you are a human. What is 5+3. Type your answer now: 8. Thanks. Your number has been whitelisted.
Boom. All robocalls will be gone. Operators will have to constantly verify, slowing them WAYY down, and they won't be able to keep using fake Caller ID numbers because they won't be verified.
Next, we need Caller ID Verification using something similar to SPF for DNS. Basically, in order to use caller ID, they will have to call you back and verify you own the number.
This would be very easy to implement.
Yeah I had a feeling they were lying. So then it’s definitely something with the iPhone XS and XR. Now it says on their site not compatible
Lying requires an intent to deceive. I don't think they're lying, but I could totally believe their support staff are under-informed. In the device compatibility section of their Call Filtering page, it shows every iPhone from the 4 to the XS Max. When I clicked "Get it now", it said my device or plan wasn't compatible. When I scrolled down to the "Call Filtering" section, clicked the drop down, and selected "Call Filtering Free", it went through the process of adding it properly. Clearly they've got a lot of rough edges to fix.
Anybody have any success in actually signing up for this? I get a message that says I have devices on my account that aren't supported -- which is weird because the two I have are an iPhone 8 and an XR. So I click the "supported devices" link and see this, insanely. It's listing only up to iPhone 6S?? This makes zero sense. (And yes, I clicked the arrows -- these are all the phones it shows).
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Except it's supremely annoying when you're, saying, watching a movie or texting or playing a game or taking a photo, and some number that's supposedly in Uganda calls EVERY 8 MINUTES, which is what happened to me a few weeks ago. Thankfully the calls stopped after a day, but even the blocking function on the iPhone wouldn't stop the phone from ringing at least a few times.
Ignoring calls is all fine but with how much more aggressive these spam calls are getting, you really need a filter. I was seriously contemplating changing my number. The whole point to these recent spate of spam calls is to get you to answer, which lets them know it's a live number, so they keep calling back until you answer.