How does your phone recognize spam calls?

Throughout the past year, you may have noticed more phone calls appear with a message stating they are a potential spam risk. While this is a great upgrade from the days of picking up calls from unknown numbers and being met with a voice on the other line trying to discuss your car’s extended warranty… it leaves us wondering, how do our phones recognize these potential spam numbers?

According to Apple , “When you receive a call, your device checks the caller’s number and compares it to the list of phone numbers in your third-party spam apps. If there’s a match, iOS displays the identifying label chosen by the app, for example, Spam or Telemarketing.”

Digging deeper, this all comes thanks to the FCC and a framework titled STIR/SHAKEN , (no, it has nothing to do with James Bond).

While the details of this get complicated and confusing, Nexstar Media Wire’s Alix Martichoux best explains it as “Basically the Federal Communications Commission is requiring phone providers to implement caller ID technology that makes it harder for spammers to spoof numbers (like when they make it seem a call is coming from your area code).”

In 2020 the FCC created a rule that required all phone service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN framework by June 30, 2021. This caused a major decline in spam calls.

The cities that saw the biggest drops in robocalls (over 10%) in July 2021 included:

• Boise, Idaho
• Denver
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Gainesville, Florida
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Killeen, Texas
• Miami
• Newark, New Jersey
• Pensacola, Florida
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Orlando, Florida
• Salt Lake City
• Springfield Gardens, New York
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• West Palm Beach, Florida

Can you trust the spam risk label?

Industry-leading antivirus and security software company, Norton, says yes. “Calls marked “spam risk” are rarely legitimate. However, if a legitimate business or individual has irregular calling habits, it’s possible that a service might mistakenly mark their number as spam.”

What precautions should you take?

When you receive a phone call that says “spam risk” or something of that nature the best thing to do is ignore the call and then block the number. By doing so you forgo the risk of potential scammers speaking with you and getting caught in their scam.

“The real danger comes from engaging with a scammer and getting embroiled in their scam,” says Oliver Buxton, cybersecurity writer, at Norton.

What should you do if you pick up a call?

The first answer is don’t pick up the call, but if you mistakenly did, hang up immediately.

What happens if you stay on the call?

While we don’t know what the scammer’s ploy to trick you is, 9/10 times they will try to get you to share your personal information over the phone like passwords or financial details.

Never provide this information unless you trust the source.

How will this affect you?

Once you answer that initial call, you should expect a lot more. According to Verizon , “By picking up the phone you are essentially telling robocallers that your number is active and they could in turn sell your number to other telemarketers. It’s important not to answer calls from unknown numbers. If you do happen to answer such a call, hang up immediately.”

Best practices:

According to the FCC , here are the best practices for protecting yourself from spam calls and potential scammers:

• Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
• You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
• If you answer the phone and the caller – or a recording – asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
• Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords, or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
• If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
• Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
• If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.
• Talk to your phone company about call-blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.
• If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
• To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List . Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list.

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