AT&T automatically blocking spam & fraud calls for new customers

AT&T is now automatically blocking suspected spam and fraud calls, though only for new customers at the moment.

For existing subscribers the feature will switch on "over the coming months," AT&T said. Either group can toggle the option manually by downloading the AT&T Call Protect app or going through settings in their myAT&T account.

The company is taking advantage of rules the U.S. Federal Communications Commission authorized in June, allowing carriers to block robocalls by default, Engadget noted. They must however inform customers, provide opt-outs, and use "reasonable" data when screening. Optionally, carriers can offer tools for blocking additional phone numbers.

The U.S. robocall situation is widely considered epidemic. Many people are bombarded by multiple calls per day, and frequently by scammers pretending to be with the likes of hotel chains or Social Security. A particular problem is "neighbor" spoofing, in which a remote call is disguised as coming from a local area code — this can make it difficult to tell if it's from a legitimate friend or business.

This month the FCC proposed further rule extensions that would allow it to more aggressively block and punish international robocalls, including ones made via VoIP platforms like Skype.

Both the U.S. House and Senate have proposed laws that would crack down on robocallers and require carriers to implement call authentication standards like STIR/SHAKEN. In April, T-Mobile revealed that it's working with Apple to bring STIR/SHAKEN to iPhones.

18 Comments

SpamSandwich 19 Years · 32917 comments

About 5 years ago

I get at minimum two spam calls a day, which I promptly block every time. I have thousands of blocked numbers.

indieshack 9 Years · 336 comments

I usually get the ones that begin: "Don't hang up"... at which point I do just that and block them, though I don't know if the call ID is genuine

1STnTENDERBITS 8 Years · 460 comments

SpamSandwich said:

I get at minimum two spam calls a day, which I promptly block every time. I have thousands of blocked numbers.

Point is, you shouldn't have to have thousands of blocked numbers. No one should. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need to block numbers but this ain't that so no need to go down that dead end road. In our little imperfect universe, efforts by the carriers can go a long way in alleviating the need for you, me, and everyone else to waste time blocking spam calls. My hope is they all (carriers) make a concerted effort to make the actions by spammers as difficult as possible. The cynic in me says that any efforts made to improve the situation will be watered down to useless due to special interest exceptions... exceptions which will be abused by spammers to continue doing what they already do.

maltz 13 Years · 507 comments

The Call Protect app doesn't work on prepaid plans. I wonder if the automatic blocking will apply.

indieshack said:

I usually get the ones that begin: "Don't hang up"... at which point I do just that and block them, though I don't know if the call ID is genuine

If you get calls from numbers using your 3 digit exchange code (your first 3 digits after area code), they're typically spoofed numbers trying to appear local. The good thing for us is phone numbers usually aren't distributed in that manner in a local area. It would be a bit rare for anyone to receive calls from their same exchange code. It would be exceedingly rare to receive multiple calls from your exchange code.

I wish I had the ability to bulk block my exchange and maybe a digit above and below my exact exchange ( ex. block 555 and also 554 and 556). That would kill most of the spam I receive.