Neighbor spoofing filter app

Question

Level 1

8 points

Neighbor spoofing filter app

Is there an app that allows only calls from people on my contact list to come through, but flags all other calls? Most of my robocalls are from phony telephone numbers that are similar to my community, but turn out to be non-working, phony numbers. I am hoping to find an app, that compares the incoming call's ID to my contact list. If there is a match allow it to come through and direct all others to my voice mail. It is possible that I may get an important call from a previously unknown number and I weant them to have the opportunity to leave a message. Most robocallers do not bother.

iPhone 6, iOS 12

Posted on Apr 5, 2019 5:40 AM

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Answer 1

anypats

Level 7

21,357 points

Apr 5, 2019 7:56 AM in response to taursus

Unfortunately I've found most of the apps like Truecaller and Nomorobo to be fairly unreliable. Because scammers are using spoofed numbers so they look like they come from someone local, those apps are not catching many of them and even if they do the scammer switches to a new spoofed number. What you could do is download a silent ringtone and use that as your default and assign all of your contacts a specific ring. That way, you wouldn't hear the ring for anyone that's not in your contacts.

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Answer 2

taursus Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2019 8:19 AM in response to anypats

I agree, Nomorobo and Truecaller examine the caller ID, as presented and make a determination based on it. But most of the annoying calls we receive nowadays have phony but familiar looking caller ID's If you call them back, almost always it turns out to be a non-existing number or worse, an existing number of an unsuspecting person, who has no idea his/her number was used.

What I am starting to do now is to look at the mobile phone and see if the name that is shown (along with the number) is someone in my contact list. If not, I allow it to go to voice mail. Most phony callers do not leave a voicemail, because they do not want to give out a valid call-back number, since that would blow their cover.

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Answer 3

Apr 5, 2019 4:32 PM in response to taursus

Check with Verizon again. They just announced that the basic filter is now free.

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Answer 4

Apr 5, 2019 8:33 AM in response to taursus

taursus wrote:

What I am starting to do now is to look at the mobile phone and see if the name that is shown (along with the number) is someone in my contact list. If not, I allow it to go to voice mail. Most phony callers do not leave a voicemail, because they do not want to give out a valid call-back number, since that would blow their cover.

Contact your carrier. Yesterday, I received a call, purportedly from my carrier's customer service number. NoMoRoBo had flagged it. They left a voicemail which was didn't sound like my carrier at all. But, I called my carrier anyway to report the call. They (Verizon) have a new feature they can add to the account that they say stops a lot of these calls. I've only had it for twenty-four hours so I can't say for certain if it's working. I generally get several spam calls a day and haven't gotten any since they added the service. Of course, it could just be an off day for robo callers.

See if your carrier has a similar feature.

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Answer 5

Apr 5, 2019 6:01 PM in response to taursus

taursus wrote:

I checked with Verizon and they suggested Call Filter (for $2.99 a month).

The basic service is free. I had it added yesterday. So, even if you don’t think it’s the ultimate solution, there’s little reason not to get it.

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Answer 6

Ralph9430

Level 7

21,998 points

Apr 5, 2019 8:35 AM in response to taursus

Check with your cellular provider. More and more cellular companies are offering identification of spoofed numbers and call blocking.

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Answer 7

KiltedTim

Level 10

224,886 points

Apr 5, 2019 8:25 AM in response to taursus

The only thing that's going to solve this problem is for the cellular carriers to pull their heads out of their collective backsides and implement the technology to authenticate callers. Anything else is just a (largely ineffective) band aid.

Contact your government representatives, the FCC, the FTC and your carrier and pressure them to take action.

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Answer 8

taursus Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2019 3:05 PM in response to Ralph9430

I checked with Verizon and they suggested Call Filter (for $2.99 a month). They have a long list of spam originating phone numbers. Essentially a fancy Do Not Call list. It doesn't solve my problem of spammers hiding their originating numbers and replacing it with a phone number that has the same area code, exchange and a random 4 digit number, that they hope is familiar to me. If I call that number back it normally turns out to be a non-working (i.e. not assigned) number.

What I am hoping for is an app (or a law by Congress) that looks at the phone call's header for the actual originating number and flags it.

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Answer 9

Apr 5, 2019 8:29 AM in response to anypats

anypats wrote:

Unfortunately I've found most of the apps like Truecaller and Nomorobo to be fairly unreliable.

That's interesting. NoMoRoBo has been 100% reliable for me in catching the calls with the same exchange as my mobile number.

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Answer 10

Apr 5, 2019 9:06 AM in response to taursus

There's an article in today's Washington Post about ways to deal with telemarketing calls: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/04/04/die-robocalls-die-how-to-guide-stop-spammers-exact-revenge/?utm_term=.1dca429c29fc

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Answer 11

taursus Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2019 2:53 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Sorry, but want to charge me a dollar for reading the article.

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Neighbor spoofing filter app

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