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Phone Companies Get New Tools To Block Spam Calls (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tightening-bolts dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Phone companies will have greater authority to block questionable calls from reaching customers as regulators adopted new rules to combat automated messages known as robocalls. Rules adopted Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission represent the latest tools against "robocalls," which pester consumers, sometimes multiple times each day, and often push scams. Phone companies can already block some calls that trick consumers by showing up on Caller ID with fake numbers. The new rules make clear that they can block additional calls that are likely scams, such as numbers that start with a 911 area code, or one that isn't currently assigned to anyone.

4 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. google fi does a good job at this by dominator · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm using Google Project Fi for my carrier, and they're identifying about 80-90% of robocalls correctly as SPAM. The phone still rings, but the phone's screen turns red and says "Suspected SPAM caller". They also give you an easy way to report calls as SPAM from within the phone app.

  2. Re:Political calls excepted by Burdell · · Score: 4, Informative

    Except that's not a political call, that's just fraud. Better news reports said the contact information was invalid, and there's no such person working for the claimed newspaper. It was simply someone trying to stir up opposition to the newspaper.

  3. Re:What about VOIP and cell phone providers? by rbet · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are plenty of legitimate uses for this functionality. If you're using a thirdparty service to deliver messages for you and want the outbound callerid to show your customer service number instead of a random thirdparty number this functionality needs to exist. Similar if you are using a thirdparty service to host conference bridges but need it to appear as if it is an internal service to your business. Ultimately it is a feature that exists for legitimate businesses but can be abused by scammers.

  4. Finally, the government is governing. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Informative

    I also Google all numbers not in my list. Never answer robocalls. That encourages them.

    It's good to see the U.S. government acting as it should. About 15 years late, but better than never.

    The article linked in the Slashdot summary has little information.

    The FCC meets today to discuss the new rules: FCC Commission Meets Tomorrow; Will Address Robocall Blocking (Nov. 15, yesterday)

    I found a PDF of the FCC's ideas about helping prevent robocalls at the November 2017 Open Commission Meeting -- Blocking Unlawful Robocalls (PDF).

    The summary? Nothing has been done yet.