The top cellular companies have been trying to make your life a little more bearable when it comes to preventing robo and other forms of spam calls. A lot of them have provided their own call blocker app that blocks incoming spam based on known databases of fraudulent numbers. However, a lot of these spammers/scammers are still getting through because they hide behind a spoofed number, allowing them to call you time and time again, each time from a new number. None of these numbers are actually where they are calling from.
To combat this even further, AT&T has rolled out a call validation feature, that will place a small green checkmark to the right of the phone number, and say “Valid number” underneath (on the incoming call screen/caller ID screen).
They are using what is called SHAKEN/STIR standards, which service providers have developed jointly to help identify if an incoming call is actually coming from the phone number it claims to be.
It won’t work with every call, at least not yet. It only works for numbers that have been validated by those who have joined the effort. As more service providers join in on the fun, you will see the number of calls being validated to multiply pretty quickly.
Also, it won’t block the number (at least not right now). It simply gives you a heads up about the call you are receiving, giving you stronger confidence in answering it or not.
So far, they have been automatically rolling the feature out to Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and LG V40 ThinQ users. With more supported models coming soon.
You can also manually download the “AT&T Call Protect app” or enable the feature within “myAT&T”.
It won’t be a surprise if they begin to offer the option to automatically block non-validated numbers as their database grows much larger, and more parties (providers) join in on the fun. T-Mobile has also rolled out support for SHAKEN/STIR, with Sprint and Verizon working to do the same in the near future.
Although the new feature isn’t perfect, it is one extra layer of protection against the bad guys.
