3 ms·

AT&T has a Call Protect app which attempts to do this. It misses some, but my spam call volume has dropped quite a bit with it.

rconti 9y ago
Thanks, looking into it now. iOS and Android app. I'm curious to see how this works. Probably can't get in the way of the calls on the device itself; pushes changes to the network maybe? https://www.att.com/features/security-apps.html https://www.att.com/features/security-apps.html
- mikeash 9y ago
  Some of it is just a matter of associating the name “Telemarketer” with a phone number. I still see those calls, but can immediately identify them. Stuff it’s more confident about gets blocked outright. I think they’re automating what they’d do if you went into your account and manually blocked a number.
  - rconti 9y ago
    I already have a /dev/null contact with a silent ringer but the telemarketers (especially the neighbor dialing) almost never uses the same number twice. Still hopeful the ATT app helps though.
    - mikeash 9y ago
      Their list automatically updates based on whatever mysterious processes happen in their end, so it should be an improvement over manually blocking numbers after you get a spam call. Hopefully it will help a little bit. It's definitely not a cure, but we have to take what we can.
exhilaration 9y ago
I get almost no spam calls now, Google has call spam blocking built into Pixel phones and I went from a few spam calls a week to maybe 1 or 2 a month. And those 1 or 2 calls ring with a red warning that they're potential spam calls. For reference, I've had the same New Jersey mobile number since 2001.
- joecool1029 9y ago
  I believe it's an Android Oreo feature, not specific to the Pixel. I picked up a Nokia 6 for my dad and was surprised to see it blocking. Google Voice has had spam lists forever, it's likely they are pooling the data from there. T-Mobile does have the ScamID/block thing that can be controlled by shortcode. Documentation here https://explore.t-mobile.com/callprotection https://explore.t-mobile.com/callprotection

rconti 9y ago

Thanks, looking into it now. iOS and Android app. I'm curious to see how this works. Probably can't get in the way of the calls on the device itself; pushes changes to the network maybe? https://www.att.com/features/security-apps.html https://www.att.com/features/security-apps.html

mikeash 9y ago
Some of it is just a matter of associating the name “Telemarketer” with a phone number. I still see those calls, but can immediately identify them. Stuff it’s more confident about gets blocked outright. I think they’re automating what they’d do if you went into your account and manually blocked a number.
- rconti 9y ago
  I already have a /dev/null contact with a silent ringer but the telemarketers (especially the neighbor dialing) almost never uses the same number twice. Still hopeful the ATT app helps though.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    Their list automatically updates based on whatever mysterious processes happen in their end, so it should be an improvement over manually blocking numbers after you get a spam call. Hopefully it will help a little bit. It's definitely not a cure, but we have to take what we can.

exhilaration 9y ago

I get almost no spam calls now, Google has call spam blocking built into Pixel phones and I went from a few spam calls a week to maybe 1 or 2 a month. And those 1 or 2 calls ring with a red warning that they're potential spam calls. For reference, I've had the same New Jersey mobile number since 2001.

joecool1029 9y ago
I believe it's an Android Oreo feature, not specific to the Pixel. I picked up a Nokia 6 for my dad and was surprised to see it blocking. Google Voice has had spam lists forever, it's likely they are pooling the data from there. T-Mobile does have the ScamID/block thing that can be controlled by shortcode. Documentation here https://explore.t-mobile.com/callprotection https://explore.t-mobile.com/callprotection