I seem to be getting an increasing number of spam calls
on my mobile phone. It’s not like I pay for each call, so it’s not the cost
that matters, its the intrusion on my privacy and the energy wasted in dealing
with the calls. Is there any sane way to block these calls?
We’ve certainly discussed this
issue previously here, but there is new news in this area. The simplest
solution is to not answer any call with blocked caller ID, or caller ID that
you don’t recognize. If you don’t know them, they can leave voicemail, right?
The problem is that this solution won’t work for everyone—some folks can’t
simply disregard calls, as they might be important personal or business calls.
We’ve mentioned it before, but if
you have a modern version of Android or iOS, you can install the Hiya app. This
free application maintains a database of fraudulent numbers, and alerts you
when a call from one comes in. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s free and
it works most of the time. There are better solutions, but they cost money: For
example, the Nomorobo app, currently available only for iOS, costs $1.99 per
month. This app does a better job than Hiya, we’ve been told, and may be worth
the monthly cost if you’re getting too many irritating spam calls.
If you’re a T-Mobile customer,
you’re in luck! (We know that not many readers are T-Mobile customers, as
T-Mobile has little presence in Nevada County. Ken uses their service, and is
quite happy with the price and features they offer.) Starting in April 2017,
T-Mobile is offering free spam call ID and blocking. The call ID feature pops
up an alert when you get a call from a known spammer; the call block feature
totally blocks those calls, so you never even know you got them. You do need to
manually enable the feature, so if you’re using T-Mobile (or MetroPCS, their
cheaper brand), you can dial #664# to enable Scam ID, #662# to enable Scam
Block, #632# to disable Scam Block, and #787# to check Scam Block enabled
status. These are solid, useful features, and we’re glad that at least one
carrier is providing them—maybe they’ll shame the other three big US carriers
into including similar functionality!
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