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Scam phone calls filter

Jesse12
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

897E5690-5101-42E8-AAFA-0B2B94B91E2B.png

Hello, wondering what can be done on Fido's end to filter out scam callers. I'm getting 10-15 calls per day! All from different local (Vancouver) numbers. Getting really tired of it. They even leave blank messages which fill up my messages inbox in minutes. 

There has to be a better filter on your end like email filters. 

 

Thank you,

 

Jesse

 

 

 

6 REPLIES 6

si
I'm a contributor level 2
I'm a contributor level 2

I've been getting scam calls and text messages fairly regularly, and it's the calls that bother me most because they cost me my precious prepaid minutes. I'm on a 75 minutes a month prepaid plan, and it's terribly frustrating losing these minutes because someone is trying to scam you. The numbers that show up on caller ID are always different, and for some strange reason, most of these prerecorded scam calls are in what sounds like a Chinese language.,,Of course, complaining to Fido won't do anything, and now I hear they're getting rid of live client support for prepaid customers..

Hey @si

 

I completely understand that receiving those types of calls is not pleasant at all and cans be a great irritant and I assure you that we take this very seriously. You can also rest assured that we have nothing to do with these kinds of calls and don’t support them in any way. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything we can do to stop these numbers from contacting you because there are no laws stopping them from doing so. But we do everything we can to lower their chances of getting in touch with you.I suggest 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: www.antifraudcentre.ca or by phone at 1-888-495-8501  



si
I'm a contributor level 2
I'm a contributor level 2

@FidoAnthony, thank you for your reply. As I mentioned, all of these spam/scam calls come from different numbers, some or maybe all, are probably 'spoofed' (is that the word?), so blocking them as you suggest would be useless as the following calls will be with different numbers appearing on my caller ID.  Today, I got one with a number starting with 1-647.  I did not answer it live, but when I saw that a message was left on my voicemail, I had to retrieve it because there's a chance in a million it might be important. Sure enough though, it was yet another prerecorded spam/scam message in a Chinese-sounding language. And of course, there goes another minute(s) off my available 75 minutes a month prepaid plan..I hope you can understand how irritating and frustrating this is.

Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello Jesse12,

 

  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. Unfortunately, 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 and here). Reporting those phone numbers do not lead back to the spammers/scammers. Any filter would block innocent customers from accessing their services, not the spammers/scammers.

 

  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). While there have been some delays as to its implementation, 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

 


Jesse12
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Thanks so much for info. I know it's a real problem. Here's to hoping it's solved in the future. 

Thanks again,

Jesse

khouya
I'm qualified level 1
I'm qualified level 1

Hi Jesse12.

It's difficult for a phone provider to block scams call cause the scammers use id spoofing.

A technology is adopted in next years by all phone providers the scammers, in a crtc decision, but not right now.

Have a nice day Very_Happy