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spam going direct to voicemail

BBG
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Just switched from Bell to Fido but am now getting numerous voicemail spam without getting a missed call. Very annoying. Wife's phone doing the same. This did not happen with Bell.

 

24 REPLIES 24

ovsa
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Fido needs to do something to prevent spam callers from going to voice mail.  Even when the caller is blocked (and the number changes daily) they are able to leave blank messages on voice mail. Very annoying to have to sign in every time and delete these to free up the voice mailbox.

 

bchap
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

April 2023 and still no sign that this issue will ever be addressed yet this thread is classified as "solved".

Hey @bchap

 

Actually, @Cawtau's message was given the ''solution'' tag for their post in this thread. 

 

Have you had the chance to look into their post and see if they could help?



OldGuyAF
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

This has been happening a bit more frequently lately, with today being one in a language I think was Chinese.  Online I discovered that there are scams targeted at Chinese immigrants, so perhaps Mandarin.

 

Regardless, this came directly to my voicemail, without leaving a log entry, so I can't even report it, nor block it.

 

As I have a limited Voicemail Box, two of these messages will prevent others from leaving legitimate messages for me, if they start sending more than one a day/hour/minute...  whatever.  These are not wanted, and waste my time to check and delete.

 

I have a phone for my convenience, not for telemarketers' and spammers' convenience.

 

How do I prevent this?  Can I set up my Voicemail to send a reply, but not allow a message to be left?

Hey @OldGuyAF

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, I get these calls too and they are very unpleasant Sad

 

It's not possible to set up your voicemail that way, you'll need to clear it in order for new messages to be left. 

 

We're doing everything we can to limit these calls, find out more here



MS07
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

I have the number that keeps calling - I have blocked them but still get voicemails from this number - Can Fido block this number as well so I don't get voicemails? The number is 226-210-1550 - they are telemarketers 

Hello @MS07 and welcome to the Community.

 

It can't be ideal to be receiving spam calls from the same number, I wouldn't be happy about that either.

 

I know that with my iPhone, I can add a specific number to my contacts and block it from calling. This doesn't necessarily apply to all phones.

 

Complaints about unsolicited phone calls should be submitted to the CRTC through its National Do Not Call List that you can find here.

 

I hope this helps.



fgp
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I am having the exact same problem.  For the past 3 weeks my voicemail box has been filled every other day by spammers with the usual nonsense: free hotel, trip, etc.

Calls go direct to voicemail with no call record.

Looks like Fido has no help to offer here, and that their network is especially susceptible.

So I guess I just wait for it to stop on its own?

FidoRanya
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @fgp

 

Thanks for the feedback. I understand how big of an inconvenience this can be. 

 

I'll make sure to forward your feedback to the appropriate department. This definitely needs to be looked into further. 



FidoFaiza
Moderator
Moderator

Great points, @Cawtau

 

Did the information provided by @Cawtau help you? @BBG



Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

@BBG wrote:

Just switched from Bell to Fido but am now getting numerous voicemail spam without getting a missed call. Very annoying. Wife's phone doing the same. This did not happen with Bell.

 


Hello BBG,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  When you switched from Bell, did you and your wife keep your old numbers or did you get new numbers from Fido?

 

  Is it possible your phones are blocking the numbers automatically? I think the Samsungs allow for blocking of unknown numbers. I understand the calls go straight to voicemail. However, you should be able to check the phone number from the messages' voicemail header (time, date and caller's number - if available) . When accessing your voicemail, press 5 to access the header. You can find additional information regarding voice messaging here. Obviously, if the caller does not broadcast their number, then it would not be available.

 

  If you are able to obtain the phone numbers, you might consider blocking those numbers. Unfortunately however, there is not very much that can be done regarding SPAM voicemail. It's strange though, I find they rarely leave messages...  Most phones block calls by muting the ringer so you're just not aware of the calls. Since the calls are not actually blocked, they are sent to voicemail.

 

  There are apps which claim to block callers and prevent voicemail from being left. Those apps actually answer and, almost simultaneously, hang-up the calls. Since the calls were answered, they do not get sent to voicemail. You should note, however, that those calls are considered answered and therefore charged for airtime.

 

  Only the providers can actually block calls before they reach your phone. If you are able to get the phone numbers of the culprits, you might consider forwarding them to Fido to see if they can add them to a call filter. Since there are no customisable call filters for each customer, they might not be able to block certain numbers in case other customers need access to those numbers. Similarly, they would not be able to block all unknown numbers since some people choose not to broadcast their phone numbers. While it's true those numbers usually show as private, they can sometimes show as unknown. In addition, with spoofing, it can be near impossible to determine where the numbers actually originated from. It's not fair to block the numbers of an innocent individuals whose numbers had been spoofed.

 

  If your phone numbers are new numbers, have you considered registering them with the National Do Not Call list?

 

Hope this helps Smiley

 

Cheers


BBG
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

I did not know about pressing 5 to get the caller's header. The voicemails have stopped lately. Have not received any for the last 2 days. If you Google "direct to voicemail" you will find that there are services that claim to do just that. That is an invasion of privacy in my opinion, and should not be allowed. Maybe someone with some clout could look into that.

Thanks for your feedback, @BBG. We will be sure to pass it along.



Anonymous
Not applicable
Hey guys. I have been in the Telecom sector for a long time now so let me share my 2 cents on this.

This issue first came up in the early 2000's. Apparently advertizing companies were sending voice messages to peoples phones by using the "back door" number so their phone doesnt ring.

People complained to the CRTC But the CRTC deemed this to be acceptable due to the low volume of complaints received on this issue.

Rogers and Fido made changes to their voicemail nodes by using a different number for routing to vm and the msg retreival number to combat the problem but people will always find a way around so it still happens from time to time but it has been very infrequent.

The reason it happens more on one carrier than others is because of how the voicemail node is, some are easier to find a back door into and others are not. I dont know what Fido can do to help you since its perfectly legal for them.

I was prety vocal in complaining about this I wrote letters and such but I guess most ppl did not bother complaining

Reference: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/crtc-wont-ban-junk-voice-mail/article1141905/

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2004/dt2004-65.htm

Thanks for sharing, @Anonymous !

 

- FidoChristina



Anonymous
Not applicable

your welcome

FidoRanya
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @BBG

 

Welcome to the Community! 

 

That's not what we like to hear, have you tried blocking those calls? 

 

We have a blog post about receiving spam calls and texts, check it out here .



BBG
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

I listened to the messages and they are telemarketers.

FidoMaria
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hi @BBG!

 

What phone are you using? In most phones, you'd have an option to block specific numbers in your call settings.

 

Let me know. Smiley



BBG
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

I am using a Galaxy 4. As I stated in a previous post, The call goes directly to voicemail. There is no number to block.