AT&T Will Automatically Block Fraud Calls For New Customers (engadget.com) 61
AT&T will start automatically blocking fraud calls and issuing suspected spam call alerts for new phone customers at no extra cost. "You'll have to opt out if you don't want the company to screen calls this way," reports Engadget. "Existing customers, meanwhile, will see the feature automatically reach their accounts in the 'coming months.'" From the report: If you like the capabilities, you can turn it on right now either by downloading the AT&T Call Protect app or enabling it through your myAT&T account settings. Although AT&T isn't charging extra, the FCC rules don't prevent it or others from using the auto-blocking as an opportunity to raise subscription rates. It may take a while to learn whether or not there are any pitfalls to what otherwise seems like a promising upgrade.
Existing Customers Can Eat Shit (Score:2, Insightful)
We're already getting your money. Why the fuck would we give you anything extra?
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Existing customers can download the app right now. I just did.
It provides basic or "plus" service for a month, and reverts to basic after the expiration of the trial period.
We'll see how well it works.
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Oracle
But not current customers... (Score:2)
Gotta make that money on the ones who are already paying.
Yes existing customers too (Score:3, Insightful)
Every single response at the time I am posting is saying "what about existing customers" when even the SUMMARY makes it clear existing customers will see this in coming months, so eventually...
Look I don't like AT&T either, but at least read all the way through the summary before dropping a hot-take!
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You're wrong. Existing customers can download the app and run it right now. The only thing changing is whether it is automatically installed or not. I've been running this for a couple of months now.
- Necron69
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I'm an existing customer and I use their CallProtect app which seems to work, but I'll be happy when I can delete it and let AT&T do the blocking on their own and by default.
Not For Me (Score:3)
My phone is on a business account, and the app tells me it's not authorized because apparently my company didn't sign up for it. #notallcustomers
And Not Aid in Thier Procecution? (Score:2)
Saturday Night Live 9/18/1976 (Score:1)
Ernestine: A gracious hello. Here at the Phone Company, we handle eighty-four billion calls a year. Serving everyone from presidents and kings to the scum of the earth. So, we realize that, every so often, you can’t get an operator, or for no apparent reason your phone goes out of order, or perhaps you get charged for a call you didn’t make. We don’t care!
Watch this [ she hits buttons maniacally ] We just lost Peoria.
You see, this phone system consists of a multibillion-dollar matrix of sp
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A classic.
Fee increase (Score:3)
Although AT&T isn't charging extra, the FCC rules don't prevent it or others from using the auto-blocking as an opportunity to raise subscription rates.
Of course there will be a rate increase. AT&T would never in a million years pass up an opportunity to gouge their customers for another couple of bucks. The others will follow suit because "Charging for this valuable extra service is the industry norm".
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Download the app. It has settings for what to do with various types of calls.
Blocking, ignoring, sending to voicemail. Also reverse-lookup caller ID.
I just D/L'd it, so haven't had a chance to try it out. Here's the link. [att.com]
It isn't enough (Score:3)
Someone's wardialer is on the fritz - I got the "suspended SSN" scam call 18 (seriously) times today - about once every 20 minutes or so ALL DAY LONG .... Once a week is one thing, but this shit is out of hand now. All the same two area codes from random Indiana or the Bahamas - same VM is left each time. Why can't once of these fucks call Captain Oversized Coffee Cup a few hundred times?
#BringBackTomWheeler
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I got the same last week, except mine was an iCloud breach.
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I moved to whitelisting phone numbers years ago. Anyone not in my contacts list is blocked. Voicemail is disabled too.
Sometimes people are unwilling to give me their number so I can whitelist it. That's good because it means they have nefarious intent and I don't want them to call me.
Fuck phones (Score:2)
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Stupid fucking phones.
Fuckers.
"download"? "app"? (Score:3)
Has everyone forgotten that there are still telephones that don't fit in your pocket, with a little wire that you can trace back all the way to the phone company? Wireline phones (even the VoIP that Uverse uses) do not run apps.
At least AT&T raised the limit of blocked numbers to 100 from 30 a while back. I just added my 50th today. But there's no way to block bogus random "same exchange" numbers, or places that call you from a small block of numbers, or a dozen different numbers with the same name. It only supports 10-digit numbers. I would be happy if I could use wildcards or name matches.
Not all that great... (Score:2)
I have been an AT&T customer since 2006, when it was still independently Cingular.
I put the spam blocker ("Call Protect" "powered by Hiya") on my phone nearly a year ago I think, out of frustration from the spammers and scammers. It started off okay, making it easier to block individual numbers (my area code - my prefix - "7890"). And then that cut down on my problems for a good while. But then they started coming from random numbers in the same format, but randomly scrambling the last 4 digits.
If AT
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Grr, I hate when I post without remembering to login first. That one was mine ^^
And how do they know they aren't blocking people? (Score:2)
If the calls are simply being blocked, then how is a person supposed to know that a real person might have called them and gotten their number blocked because it happened to match some algorithm?
I'm sure this is the exception and not the rule, and I'm not suggesting that the idea be scrapped, but I think this is something that bears consideration.
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How do you know that this won't produce false positives?
You may not care about them but there may be people that do... or would, if they knew about them.
AT&T Alerts have already rolled out (Score:2)
I do have AT&T, these alerts have been happening now for about the last 7 days. When the incoming call gets to the phone, the phone screen shows in big letters "AT&T Alert: Fraud Risk", "AT&T Alert: Spam Risk", and "AT&T Alert: Telemarketer". There may be more types, but those are the three I've seen. The calling phone number is shown as well. The call remains in the inbound call log on the phone, which the "type" attached. While I have no love for AT&T, its appearance was a welcome indi