AT&T Is Adding a Spam Filter For Phone Calls (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Today, ATT introduced a new service for automated blocking of fraud or spam calls. Dubbed ATT Call Protect, the system identifies specific numbers believed to be sources of fraud, and will either deliver those calls with a warning or block them outright. Users can whitelist specific numbers, although temporary blocks require downloading a separate Call Protect app. The feature is only available on postpaid iOS and Android devices, and can be activated through the MyATT system. Phone companies have allowed for manual number blocking for years, and third-party apps like Whitepages and Privacystar use larger databases of untrustworthy numbers to preemptively block calls from the outside. But ATT's new system would build in those warnings at the network level, and give operators more comprehensive data when assembling suspected numbers. More broadly, marketing calls are subject to the national Do Not Call registry. Specific instances of fraud can still be reported through carriers or directly to police.

Comments

Great

[Mister Transistor]

Except the spammy douchebags are just spoofing local numbers to fool people into picking them up. They seem to change them weekly or so.

Re:Great

[ShanghaiBill]

Except the spammy douchebags are just spoofing local numbers to fool people into picking them up.

The phone companies could easily detect and block that behavior, if they chose to do so.
The problem is that they have no incentive to care.
Hopefully, when AT&T starts blocking spam calls, the others will do the same to stay competitive.

Re: Great

[rantrantrant]

The calls must be from Canada. Tim Hortons to be specific. If they offer you Timbits, just hang up, eh?

Re:Great

[Ol Olsoc]

Except the spammy douchebags are just spoofing local numbers to fool people into picking them up. They seem to change them weekly or so.

My method works better, If I don't know who it is, if it isn't in my address book I don't pick up the phone. Don't give a shit any more. The telephone system has been ruined, and is essentially worthless.

Re:Great

[stevel]

AT&T's Call Protect is "powered by HiYa".

Re:Great

[Anonymous Coward]

If AT&T can tell that it is a spoofed caller ID, then they could automatically block the call.

There are a lot of legitimate reasons why caller ID might not match the AN setting up the call. Unless the caller is actually an AT&T customer, there is not much they can do to determine if it's a legit spoof or not.
One example of legit spoofing is when you have two or more phone numbers, and only want to get Inbound calls on one specific number, or possibly have inbound calls go to an 800 number you own. You can have your telco spoof the caller ID on all your lines to deliver the same number. You'll see a lot of companies do this with the cell phones they give to their Field Technicians... they deliver a Caller ID which goes back to the central support center or Dispatcher.

But the way it's supposed to work is that the telco sets that up FOR the customer, after verifying the spoofed number is valid and legitimately owned by that same person or company. But a lot of lazy, inept, or just plain corrupt companies exist which allow customers to send the Caller ID themselves. Other companies can't normally tell what is legit and what is not. And more to the point, performing the verification is a manual process, there's really isn't any way to automate it, especially not at the time a call is being made.

Political calls

[DonaId Trump]

Does anyone know if political calls are exempt? I'm asking for a friend.