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Spam calls every day in Chinese. Block the number, calls keep coming.

sick-of-F1do
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Every day I receive calls in Chinese. Every day I block these numbers. Everyday the calls keep coming from a different number. 

Fido will say they can change my number. CRTC says the phone companies have the ability but choose to not implement call blocking on suspected robo callers.

It makes you feel helpless.

12 REPLIES 12

MoeDastranj
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

 know that the CRTC has enforced all cell phone providers to protect their clients and trace backk and block unwanted spam calls. This was 6 Months ago when I spoke to them, I was put in awarness that Rogers will be the first to implement a strategie and technology to eliminate this issue.

 

I have received 7 calls starting with 2262446 and the rest keeps changing on every call,

 

It rings a few times and then hangs up. When calling back the numbers there is no registered user or active line on the other end.

 

I wanted to ask and see what Fido is doing and why I am being constantly bombarded with these fake numbers and why the system is not picking up on this to block those numbers. This is the 21st century, my cell phone has AI and so does most of devices now....how come Fido has not installed a system yet so we dont get these calls from other countries saying that they are CRA or Social Insurance number fraud etc.....

 

I am kindly asking why there isnt anything in place yet 

Hey @MoeDastranj,

 

Welcome to the community. Smiley

 

We moved your post to this thread as you'll find answers to your questions regarding those pesky spam calls here!



Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello,

 

Welcome to the community!

 

  I can understand the frustration. 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). 

 

  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.

 

  I understand the CRTC might have told you that the ability to block, however, the problem is broader than merely solely a Canadian issue (see here). The new STIR/SHAKEN measures relies on tokens from the callers' providers as well as the recipients' providers properly receiving them. Both caller and recipient providers need to have the measures implemented.

 

  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.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 

 


DGD1
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

I will be travelling outside of Canada but don't want to use Roaming as it is too expensive.  I am receiving calls every day from the spammer, who sometimes leaves a voice message.  If I do not answer the call but the spammer leaves a voice message,  Fido will send me a text to let me know,.  My concern is that I will be charged for the text message that Fido sends to me to inform me of the voice mail message.

Hello DGD1,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  Firstly, what type of voicemail do you have? Is it the Basic Voicemail or the Premium Voicemail-to-text?

 

  As FidoSaad mentioned below, incoming SMS are not charged and would not incur roaming fees. However, any data contained within a MMS (incoming or outgoing) would be considered roaming data and considered chargeable. If you have the Basic Voicemail, receiving those notifications would not incur roaming fees. However, if you have the Premium Voicemail-to-text, receiving the entire message would incur roaming fees. To prevent the fees, you might consider disabling any automatic download options in your text message settings. You would then receive a SMS notification (no charge) with the option to download the contents. You should note that, with the exception of Wifi-calling, SMS/MMS do not generally transmit via Wifi so attempting to download the contents while connected to Wifi would still go through the networks and be considered roaming data.

 

  If your phone is supported for Wifi-calling, some Wifi-calling usage is considered roaming.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 

 


FidoSaad
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey there @DGD1,

 

Incoming SMS are actually free. You won't be billed anything for receiving a text message. However, calling your voicemail will.


As a side note, we also send you SMS notifications when you roam. These automatic messages are simply a welcome message to inform you of the applicable charges at your current destination. It does not mean that you've been billed Smiley

 

To clarify, on our end, we will only charge you if there is usage made while roaming using your Fido SIM card. That is the only way we can track a communication to your device. Billed usage are calls (incoming and outgoing), sent texts (incoming are free), and mobile data.

 

Hope this helps, cheers!



Tingt
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

There are way too many spam calls.  Spammers are using unused numbers for display.    
Is there any way to stop the spam calls or we just ignore all calls that are not on my contact list?  Or keep switching to other providers for a new number?

 

need to know if the industry has any solution that can be implemented?

FidoJulien
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @Tingt

 

We understand spam calls are annoying and are working with our industry partners on this issue. Since this is affecting all providers, changing your number or your provider wouldn't help.  However, depending on the phone you're using, you might be able to restrict calls to people who are in your contact list. I'd suggest checking with the manufacturer if that's a feature that your phone offers.



Tingt
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

have been blocking numbers but what if those numbers become a valid number?

FidoJulien
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @Tingt

 

If you ever need to receive a call from a number you've blocked, you can always unblock it!



normike
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Something which would go a long way to help solve this problem is for the phone providers to allow uis to block certain area code calls. Unfortunately the providers answer is they are not allowed to do that. Why not? 

FidoSaad
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @normike

 

The available solution on this thread goes into details as to why that is not possible.That said, you do have the option to block calls on your device.