Hey @Momontherun,
Welcome to our Community!
Those calls aren't from us, it's a scam! We get how irritating they can be and we do what we can to minimise their chances of them getting in touch with you. Avoid picking up those calls as much as possible and make sure to block the unwanted calls by blocking the caller's number.
I also recommend reporting the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:
- Online: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm
- By phone: 1-888-495-8501
Learn more about how you can protect yourself from Spam Calls here.
The problem is, the displayed number from scammer IS the ACTUAL Fido customer service number...
Hey @alexnd19 
When we place outgoing calls to customers, the phone number displayed usually isn't the same one as for incoming calls to customer service.
It's indeed possible that some fraudulent callers are using Caller ID Spoofing to copy our customer service phone number, unfortunately.
Hey @F1dorocks,
I moved your post on this thread. You can find more about how you can protect yourself from Spam calls above.
Hello MyNumberRules,
Welcome to the community!
I think everyone is rather fed up about getting SPAM and SCAM calls from spoofed numbers. Unfortunately, there currently isn't much that any of the mobile providers can do to prevent them. Since the spammers/scammers use spoofed numbers, it is not possible to identify the true spammers' number. The numbers shown on caller ID do not belong to the spammers. They often belong to innocent, unsuspecting people. There isn't much that can be done to prevent numbers from being spoofed. In some instances, the spammers/scammers will use the recipients' own phone numbers to make the calls. Even the RCMP are not immune to being spoofed (see here).
You're right, blocking the spoofed numbers is not feasible. Blocking innocent customers for no reason is not acceptable. That's why the mobile providers and landline providers simply cannot block a number without absolute proof that the owner of the number is engaged in nefarious activities. Blocking numbers simply based on their apparent use to make SPAM calls or send SPAM SMS would result in honest customers having difficulties using their services.
The mobile providers have implemented Universal Call Blocking which is meant to block calls from malformed phone numbers. That said, I'm doubtful whether it will have much of an effect on the amount of SPAM or SCAM calls since many of them appear to have properly formed phone numbers. In addition, a new technology, STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens) is being adopted to further reduce the amount of nuisance calls (see here). However, I have my doubts as to whether those measures will reduce the amount of SPAM calls. My understanding is the STIR/SHAKEN will only identify possible SPAM calls and mark the calls as suspected SPAM.
Unfortunately, until the technology to unmask the true number of spammers/scammers is readily available (not simply the number shown on the caller ID), the only solution currently is to block the numbers on your phone. You should note that blocking the calls only prevents the calls from ringing your phone. It does not prevent the callers from leaving voicemail. There are (at least were) some apps which claimed to also prevent callers from leaving voicemail. They worked by answering and almost simultaneously ending the calls. While those apps do prevent calls from going to voicemail, the calls are also considered 'answered' and therefore count as airtime.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
so ive been looking at other posts and people who have the same problem and from what i can tell just by reading the frustration from everyone is that we are being asked to change our number which is NOT an option to anyone .. ive been blocking every number that i get but i do not want to block ALL calls from a 1866 number as they could be from a customer service provider or anyone from another company.
just an update the time right now is 2:00pm EST and i got a 3rd call from 866 - 888 - 3446
please see the screen shot of the 3 calls that have come in today thus far
Hello Knighthunter007,
I think everyone is rather fed up about getting SPAM and SCAM calls. You should note that those calls are not from Fido. While Fido does have Chinese-speaking customer service, those calls are from scammers trying to target their Chinese customer base. I understand it appears like they might be targeting Fido customers, however, none of the providers are immune to the SPAM calls everyone has been receiving. In fact, the problem is broader than solely a Canadian issue -- it's Worldwide (see here).
As you may be aware, the calls are often being made using spoofed numbers. Unfortunately, there currently isn't much that any of the mobile providers can do to prevent them. Since the spammers/scammers use spoofed numbers, it is not possible to identify the true spammers' number. The numbers shown on caller ID do not belong to the spammers. They often belong to innocent, unsuspecting people. There isn't much that can be done to prevent numbers from being spoofed. In some instances, the spammers/scammers will use the recipients' own phone numbers to make the calls. Even the RCMP are not immune to being spoofed (see here).
Blocking the spoofed numbers at the network level is not feasible. While the numbers calling you appeared to come from toll-free numbers, other schemes involve numbers which appear similar to your own (neighbour spoofing) or even your own number (mirroring). Blocking innocent customers for no reason is not acceptable. That's why the mobile providers and landline providers simply cannot block a number without absolute proof that the owner of the number is engaged in nefarious activities. Blocking numbers simply based on their apparent use to make SPAM calls or send SPAM SMS would result in honest customers having difficulties using their services.
I understand some apps might offer that service. However, those blocking lists only affect people who opt to use those apps. Honest customers who might actually own those numbers can still use their services, just not to call people using those apps. If a mobile provider were to do the same, honest customers would have difficulties using their services.
I also understand some have suggested implementing a system where the callers are required to dial a specified number before calls are completed. While that system might seem reasonable to limit robocalls, there are some legitimate automatic calls which would also be blocked (ie pharmacies, doctors' offices, libraries, etc).
The mobile providers have implemented Universal Call Blocking which is meant to block calls from malformed phone numbers. That said, I'm doubtful whether it will have much of an effect on the amount of SPAM or SCAM calls since many of them appear to have properly formed phone numbers. In addition, a new technology, STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens) is being adopted to further reduce the amount of nuisance calls (see here). However, I have my doubts as to whether those measures will reduce the amount of SPAM calls. My understanding is the STIR/SHAKEN will only identify possible SPAM calls and mark the calls as suspected SPAM.
Unfortunately, until the technology to unmask the true number of spammers/scammers is readily available (not simply the number shown on the caller ID), the only solution currently is to block the numbers on your phone. There are (at least were) some apps which claimed to also prevent callers from leaving voicemail. They worked by answering and almost simultaneously ending the calls. While those apps do prevent calls from going to voicemail, the calls are also considered 'answered' and therefore count as airtime.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hey @Knighthunter007
I merged your post to this thread since it's about the same topic.
You will find the solution to this on this thread.
Our support team is aware that our customers are getting those types of calls and are working constantly to stop those.
