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Chinese (or else) recorded call almost everyday !

PCIMPOTS
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Almost everyday, I am receiving a recorded call in Chinese (or else) ! This has been for months, now. Anybody else receiving this annoying call ? Every time, the source calling number is different. No way to stop this ?

56 REPLIES 56

Hello @Xaxmbr,

 

That's not the impression we want you to have! Indeed, this situation affects every Canadian and it is irrespective of provider or plan. 

 

With that said, please rest assured, that we know that it's a known issue and we're currently working on a fix! 

 

 



Meakah
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Well 4 yrs later and it is even worse... 

DanHighRes
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

You guys are fixing it for more than 2 years, I am tired of this calls and they left voicemail as well. Even I know what to do if ALL FIDO SUPPORT CANNOT FIX IT!
1) Add all numbers that scammed you into one database!
2) Restrict all your customers from receiving calls from scam numbers.

Fido is not interested in fixing this issue cause I have this problem more than a year

Hello again,

 


@DanHighRes wrote:

...
1) Add all numbers that scammed you into one database!
2) Restrict all your customers from receiving calls from scam numbers..



  If you managed to read through some of the other posts in this thread, you'll note that most of those SCAM calls are made using spoofed phone numbers. Those phone numbers usually belong to innocent people, including regular customers, RCMP, CRA, police, etc. Those numbers don't actually belong to the spammers/scammers. It isn't possible to simply place all of those numbers in a database and block them without absolute proof the owners of those numbers are the ones spamming/scamming others.

  Unfortunately, there isn't a simple solution to the problem. Even the relatively newly introduced STIR/SHAKEN protocol has its limitations. Intuitively, it should be simple. However, an actual solution is not that straightforward.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers


jimmer69er
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Im getting deluged by this garbage 3-5 times a day and its filling up my voicemail as well. sppofing numbers using voip most likely but Fido needs to keep me happy and waive the change my phone number fee or lose me altogether.

Hello Jimmer69er,

 

  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. 

 

  While I'm not sure changing your phone number will reduce the number of spoofed SPAM/SCAM calls you receive, you should note that there is no charge if you do the change yourself via My Account (see here).

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 


DanHighRes
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

I personaly have too many contacts to change phone number often. All my contacts will don't have my new phone number and I will have manually send them my new phone number!

Hello DanHighRes,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  I understand changing phone numbers might not be ideal. I was not suggesting changing numbers as an option. I was replying to another community member referring to waiving the fee for number changes.

 

Cheers


jrobinson42
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Hey Fido,

These Chinese calls always go to my voice mail which makes it worse. Now I have to check voice mail to find out it is a scam, then delete it. I'm getting these calls about every second day. Could you not change your voice system to:

a: When you reject an incoming call it does not go to voice mail, it just hangs up

b: Could you setup voice mail so that a user action has to occour before a message can be left. Example: after your message the caller needs to press 5 (or some number of my choosing), to be able to leave a message. That should stop most of these calls going to voice mail and if there is a real human and legit caller, they can leave a message.

pwingert
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

If its not in my address book it is bogus. I use an app called "truecaller" to drop all incoming calls to voicemail., I don't accept calls from outside Canada. If I must deal with a US company it is by email initially and then by video call initiated by me. If they can't do business that way, then I find another company. I never deal with calls from other countries. They are all bogus. People I deal with outside North America do so on social media or Skype.

Eastcider
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Why not help us in the meantime and provide a dedicated department to report them to, and you block them for us once and for all? For us to block it requires saving it with a name first, then blocking it. Give us one touch blocking!

Don't allow numbers on the network that aren't verified, or prevent selling of massive series' of numbers to individual entities, and if they are part of a large purchase by an org, then mark them as potential spam before allowing them on Fido's network. Even better, sell numbers only to residents of Canada.. There are ways, Fido.

 Sure, we would need other companies to follow suit, but somebody has to do something! Besides, once they see the additional revenue you'd make by actually showing concern would be enough for them to try harder, too. Right now there's no real way to block them unless we do it for you on our devices which is time consuming enough considering that it shouldn't even be happening in the first place. This is YOUR service. Help US.

You should be blocking them for us. Aside from that, it could be promoted to increase sales and new customers because it would look authentically like you're trying to please us.

We are willing to work with you, so let's get on it.

Hello Eastcider,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  I think everyone is rather fed up about getting SPAM and SCAM calls.

 


@Eastcider wrote:..Don't allow numbers on the network that aren't verified, or prevent selling of massive series' of numbers to individual entities, and if they are part of a large purchase by an org, then mark them as potential spam before allowing them on Fido's network. Even better, sell numbers only to residents of Canada...

    Fido isn't selling their customers' phone numbers. The calls are 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). 

 

   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).

 

  It's actually not that difficult for spammers/scammers to direct those calls to a particular provider. All phone numbers -- whether landline or mobile -- are in databases which are readily available online. Certain area code and prefix combinations are designated as landlines, others as Rogers, Fido, Bell, etc. All a spammer/scammer needs to do is have a computer sequentially dial the numbers of a desired area code/prefix combination from 0000 to 9999 and all of those customers would be with their desired target (see here). They'll likely change the message depending on the area code/prefix combination. There have been instances where people who have ported their phone numbers to other providers still receive SPAM directed at their original providers.

 

  In addition, the spammers/scammers will tend to spoof phone numbers within their target range to make potential victims think the calls are coming from people they might know. Since your area code/prefix is for Fido (unless you ported from another provider), many of the calls will also appear to come from Fido phone numbers. It's called Neighbour spoofing (see here and here). In some instances, the spammers/scammers will use the recipients' own phone numbers to make the calls, called mirroring. Those are just the phone numbers the spammers/scammers chose to spoof. Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done to prevent numbers from being spoofed. 

 

  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.

 

  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.

 

  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. What phone do you have? Some phones do allow for one touch blocking. Some phones even allow you to block entire area codes or even Country codes (using the Begins with specifier). 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

 

 

 


Hey @jrobinson,

 

Welcome to our Community!

 

I really understand that having your voicemail filled with those messages must not be pleasant. 

 

The reason a call goes to voicemail when rejected is because of the way Unconditional Call Forward works when you have a voicemail option on your line. Calls are transferred to the voicemail if the number is busy, the call isn’t answered (which includes call rejection or simply letting the call ring without an answer), or your number is unreachable.

 

This being said, your feedback is definitely valued and we'll take care of forwarding it to the right people. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to let us know!

 

 



Scooby-Doo
I'm qualified level 1
I'm qualified level 1

Hello Even with the latest security any provider you still will get spam I love having Pixel phone at least they patch security every month and you can screen your calls with AI Google assistant if don't know the number.

you can block the calls but there is no filter if your phone is off or busy afterwards like @FidoClaudia says it will go to your voicemail in such case.

It would be nice to be able to have continuation blockage  up to voicemail. I only have a small voice mail 3 messages space here in Fido. 

There is a concensus happening at the crtc level as the SPs are completely not to blame for this. Any purchase of line numbers is not actionable once rented meaning the use for spam scam is out of their hands they don't / can't monitor that is why the end caller helps by reporting spam and scam is so important currently it's the only way but this is going to change hopefully soon! keep in mind that after their number has been busted they turn around change their names on account and buy another number. The real issue is now the very possibility to takeover via VoIP of your line and number .. personally that is where I expect Fido to secure its clients  by not giving access to the wrong person and by safeguarding actionable data securely.

Thanks for reading, cheers!

PCIMPOTS
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Since desactivating VoiceMail, no more calls...

Hey PCIMPOTS,

 

Hmm that's one way to do it! It might not be an option for customers that need their voicemail but thanks for sharing your solution with us Smiley

 

We do recommend to report those calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center to prevent such calls for all wireless customers.



FidoAmanda
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey PCIMPOTS!

I know it's never fun to be getting unwanted calls. I, myself, have been receiving these type of calls from time to time too. 

Your best bet in this situation would be to report the callers to the to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You can reach them online or by calling 1-888-495-8501.



DanHighRes
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

You will die by trying to blick every single scam number every single time. This is not a solution, this is called: we don't know what to do so fix it yourselves!

pwingert
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

In my case if the call originates outside of the GTHA it can be blocked by default unless its in my  contact list. So simple and so easy.

orminator
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Fido is pretty useless and obviously does not care: I have contacted customer support (joke) and have been taken off their list to accept "promotional" calls. Am on the "DO NOT CALL" list but Fido will not deal with these spam calls. How difficult can it be when if they  actually care they could easily deal with it.

Annoying thing is these calls keep leaving messages and clog up the voicemail box.

Pretty obvious that Fido actually likes these spam callers since when there are three messages in the voicemail box the caller (i.e. genuine callers) cannot leave a message.

The customer then has to pay an extra monthly fee to accept more than 3 calls to voicemailbox.

Pitiful lack of service by Fido and Rogers.

Likely the most expensive cell phone service in the world and virtually zero support for the average consumer though I know that corporate customers will get some actual support

Gogo2019
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I agree with you my friend. I still receive these calls every day and very annoying.

I  call Fido but they are funny and helpless. 

I am thinking to cancel my three lines with them with over 500 bill every month