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T-Mobile Goes After Scam Calls With 'Caller Verified' Feature

This feature is currently limited to Galaxy Note 9 handsets, but T-Mobile said it will be available on 'more smartphones later this year.' Users will see 'Caller Verified' on the incoming call screen when T-Mobile has confirmed the call is authentic and hasn't been intercepted.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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T-Mobile is going after phone scammers and spammers with a new feature that lets wireless users know when a call is authentic.

The self-proclaimed "un-carrier" says it's the first in the industry to launch caller verification using the STIR and SHAKEN standards.

"These standards combat illegal caller ID spoofing, which occurs when scammers temporarily hijack a phone number to match the area code and 3-digit prefix of the person they are targeting, making the incoming call look familiar," T-Mobile explained in a news release.

This feature is currently limited to Galaxy Note 9 handsets, but T-Mobile said it will be available on "more smartphones later this year." After installing the latest free software update, Galaxy Note 9 users will see "Caller Verified" on the incoming call screen when T-Mobile has confirmed the call is authentic and hasn't been intercepted.

At this point, this only works for calls made on the T-Mobile network, but that could change in the future. "Once other wireless providers implement STIR/SHAKEN, Caller Verified will work on calls made across networks," T-Mobile said.

This new caller verification feature comes after T-Mobile in 2017 started flagging known scam calls for its users. Dubbed Scam ID, that feature, which is included in all T-Mobile postpaid plans at no extra cost, will pop up a warning if a call is coming from a number identified in PrivacyStar's database of scam callers. T-Mobile said it has flagged more than 8.9 billion calls as Scam Likely and blocked more than one billion scam calls in the last 18 months.

According to recent data from Truecaller, 7 percent of all spam calls in the US are scams. Unfortunately, many of those scams are effective. Last April, Truecaller said that one in 10 American adults had lost money to a phone scam in the past 12 months.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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