A funny thing happened this week when my cellphone rang while working on an article that sort of blew my mind. It was a number that I didn’t know, which would be course for not answering, but just above the number read the words “Scam Likely”.
I’m not a stranger to these scams, writing about them online, but I was surprised the way that T-Mobile handled them. For a long time now I’ve been using an app that filters out spam calls, and it’s worked really well. But this move by T-Mobile is something much bigger than that.
This is the first time that something like this has been implemented on a network wide level. The move is part of an industry-wide “Robocall Strike Force” that the FCC set up last year to fight against these scams. The list includes such major players as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Verizon.
But what is impressive with this roll-out is that the move by T-Mobile comes just 24 hours after the FCC voted on approving a new rule allowing telecom companies the freedom to block these robocalls via their network.
But as with any new system it’s far from perfect and T-Mobile is quick to point out that some calls may simply be false alarms. But this is a small price to pay if you are someone that gets a number of scam calls a week.
Via (Venture Beat)