T-Mobile unveils Scam Shield to combat robocalls
The spam call blocking service is free to all customers
No one likes being spammed with fake calls all day. Some of us deal with multiple robocalls and telemarketers on a daily basis. T-Mobile wants to put a stop to that trend.
The Un-carrier is attempting to step in where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) won’t by offering its customers a new service called Scam Shield. It is designed to protect customers’ personal information by screening and blocking calls from scammers. Best of all, it is offering the service to customers for free.
Post-Merger Benefits
T-Mobile had been quiet since completing a historic merger with Sprint back in April. That changed on Thursday during a company webcast hosted by actor Anthony Anderson and T-Mobile’s new CEO Mike Sievert.
The duo announced that subscribers will be getting several new features as part of their service. Perhaps the most notable is Scam Shield.
The technology flags suspicious incoming calls and customers will also have the ability to turn on scam call blocking to automatically reject future attempts. T-Mobile says that both its and Sprint’s customers will receive the service for free.
Meanwhile, the Un-carrier is also rolling out free enhanced Caller ID that takes advantage of the new STIR/SHAKEN technology. This helps T-Mobile verify who’s calling and lets you know if it is a verified person or business. Ultimately, it gives customers more insight into who is on the other end of a call before answering.
Another new feature that T-Mobile will now offer is a free second number. The service, called T-Mobile Proxy, lets customers keep their personal number private and use another number to sign up for services.
Profiting on a Problem
Scam Shield comes at a time when American consumers are receiving more scam calls than ever. In fact, last year alone, people dealt with 58 billion of them. Those scam and spam calls cost more than $10 billion annually according to YouMail.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem has only gotten worse. Preying on people’s fears about the virus, scam callers have increased their efforts by 70 percent between May and June. T-Mobile notes that these calls will cost Americans more than $80 million this year.
Seivert notes that T-Mobile can’t change the script on its own. He says, “We need the rest of the industry to follow suit. Because this is literally the №1 issue in our industry; the №1 complaint to the FCC.”
Notably, competing carriers Verizon and AT&T are charging customers for a similar service. Verizon has its Call Filter Plus for $2.99. Although T-Mobile will offer a premium version of its call-blocking technology for $4 a month, it will give customers the base service for free.
As far as other carriers charging for basic protections, Seivert has some strong opinions. He says, “That’s just crazy. It’s got to stop. This industry shouldn’t be profiting from this phenomenon. We should be heads down solving it because people are losing millions and millions of dollars, and they’re losing their faith in other people.”
Indeed, millions of Americans would likely agree with that sentiment. Fortunately for T-Mobile customers, robocalls are about to be a much smaller problem to worry about.
Originally published at https://www.theburnin.com on July 16, 2020.
