FREQUENT SCAM CALLS

[youvegotmail]

My dad has a Public Mobile account and he received a lot of scam calls. He had to manually block each and every one of those numbers. We got tired of doing this, so we changed our phone number to new one. Frequent scam calls are coming to this new number too. Public Mobile must carry phone numbers that other carriers rejected, because they have too many bad batches. Whoever had our phone numbers before us, must've received a lot of scam calls to those numbers too.

Public Mobile, besides telling me to manually block those scam numbers, can you please give me a solution to this problem? What can you do from your end, to help? I've already changed my phone number hoping that this will stop scam calls, but my new number is getting as many scam calls as my old number. I've registered my number with the Do Not Call List. This isn't helping at all.

[Nezgar]

@southernfarm 

Check your email address on this site... https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Potentially if you used the same password for your public mobile self-serve account on any other site it may have been compromised elsewhere...

[southernfarm]

Thank you for calling me a tin foil hat wearer and that I am full of conspiracy theories willing to throw Public Mobile under the bus.  It was them who could not protect me from a sim swap, and it was them who recently changed how sim swaps can only be handled by moderators.  My suggestion to the PM cyber security tech that called me by the way.

[Korth]

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@southernfarm wrote:

I am in the same position now.  Don't post my # anywhere.  I was recently SIM jacked last month while on PM.  I have also a ported # that I have had for over 10 years.  I think because of my SIM Jack that my number was made public.  Also I am wondering if PM servers have been attacked, or have poor security.

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Perhaps Public Mobile (or Telus, or any one of the data brokers they sell information about their customers) did have bad security. As always, you may trust people or agencies with your "private" information (their intentions are harmless, not malign, they have no reason to abuse your trust). Yet you cannot always trust the people or agencies that they trust in turn.

But if you've had the number for ten years then it could have floated around or leaked all sorts of ways. Or you may have simply been targeted. Few of us wear our tinfoil hats 24x7 and it only takes a single slip over the years for that information to get out there forever.

Companies which make money from your data and your life (and which can lose money if you legally attack them for violating your data and your life) are by no means impenetrably, but their security standards are much higher than the "poor security" of individuals.

[southernfarm]

I am in the same position now.  Don't post my # anywhere.  I was recently SIM jacked last month while on PM.  I have also a ported # that I have had for over 10 years.  I think because of my SIM Jack that my number was made public.  Also I am wondering if PM servers have been attacked, or have poor security.

[Nezgar]

@ninja_greigh Send your spam calls to Lenny. 😁 https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Using-Your-Service/Lenny-the-Telemarketers-worst-nigh...

My Canadian access number has been recently improved to also dial a "1" for the caller to improve likelihood of Lenny talking to a human. 👍 Set your "busy/declined" conditional call forward: *67*2264447726# and reset to Public Mobile default voicemail with ##67#

At least we can try to get some entertainment value out of this situation...

[gblackma]

@ninja_greigh and the only thing you can do is block each number as you get it. And if on android phone add a Google account and use their spam blocker. Stay safe. 

[Anonymous]

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@ninja_greigh wrote:

I was with Telus for going on 18 years. As soon as I switched to Public Mobile I start getting a plethora of spam calls. I work in IT and I don't post my number ANYWHERE! 

This seems to a Public Mobile issue. How did they get my information? 

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Robo-dialing.

Did you transfer/port your number over or did you pick a number from here?

[ninja_greigh]

I was with Telus for going on 18 years. As soon as I switched to Public Mobile I start getting a plethora of spam calls. I work in IT and I don't post my number ANYWHERE! 

This seems to a Public Mobile issue. How did they get my information? 

[Nezgar]

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@youvegotmail wrote:

Public Mobile, besides telling me to manually block those scam numbers, can you please give me a solution to this problem? What can you do from your end, to help?

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Check my earlier post with a solution I use: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Fun-with-Conditional-Call-forwarding-and-...

Use "Conditional call forwarding" for "busy", and set that to forward to a number that is not in service, or some other automated response. Then, when you actively "Decline" a call you are sure is spam, it will forward the robocall to that number rather than also clogging up your voicemail. This may flag your number as 'not in service' or 'not a human' and may reduce your callbacks.

Can be fun to do it to a friend occasionally too. 🙂 Calls that are unanswered, or when your phone is offline, will still proceed to voicemail as usual.

[Ed404]

The CRTC is cracking down on providers to deal with these fraudulent calls better. Here's hoping blocking spammers will actually work down the road

[88cranston]

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@Korth wrote:

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@sahands wrote:

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If they're important calls then they always leave a message with a callback number.

Good point for sure. But just to add the calls in Chinese that we ignore somehow leave messages and of course we don’t know what they are saying.....so no response anyways. 

So not answering calls - important and spoofed alike - then calling them back (as you choose, and from any number) is still my advice.

Yes good advice......and perhaps if the caller is not in your contacts then let a message be left.  And if no message, block the caller. 

As to just being submissive and "taking it" ... that's your choice. You always have the option of interrupting solicitors, demanding they remove your number from their lists and don't call back, asserting yourself, and hanging up. 

[Korth]

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@sahands wrote:

 ... it's BS to say not answer them, because they spoof 905 and 647 numbers (my area code), so there's no way to tell if it's real or not without answering. 

With the weak regulation that we have, there's nothing anyone can do. Just bend over and take it.

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If they're important calls then they always leave a message with a callback number. So not answering calls - important and spoofed alike - then calling them back (as you choose, and from any number) is still my advice.

As to just being submissive and "taking it" ... that's your choice. You always have the option of interrupting solicitors, demanding they remove your number from their lists and don't call back, asserting yourself, and hanging up. 

[88cranston]

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@sahands wrote:

I'm getting 3-4 calls per day, and it's BS to say not answer them, because they spoof 905 and 647 numbers (my area code), so there's no way to tell if it's real or not without answering. 

With the weak regulation that we have, there's nothing anyone can do. Just bend over and take it.

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Well at least be suspect if the caller is not in your contacts list. Are you aware of knowing what callers are in your contacts list or not?

[sahands]

I'm getting 3-4 calls per day, and it's BS to say not answer them, because they spoof 905 and 647 numbers (my area code), so there's no way to tell if it's real or not without answering. 

With the weak regulation that we have, there's nothing anyone can do. Just bend over and take it.

[Korth]

Register with the Canadian DNCL. To block out Canadian phone surveys/marketing. 

And register with USA DNCL. To block out USA-based companies and the foreign call centers they contract. 

This doesn't stop scam/fraud calls (because they don't comply with laws and regulations anyhow) but any noise it does remove is welcome.

https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en

https://www.donotcall.gov/

Your phone might have spyware (apps) which feed your "live" number to lists which are then somehow accessible to scammers. Run a malware scan and uninstall (or at least block permissions on) any third-party apps/games/softwares you don't really use. The fewer companies have your number the fewer companies can share or sell (or get hacked) to reveal your number. Maybe you can "trust" promises not to share or sell your phone number (or other personal info), but you also don't know who they hire to access it or how well they can secure it, so it's always prudent not to submit such info unless it's really necessary. 

Don't answer calls from long distance or toll-free area codes. If it's important then they'll leave a msg anyhow. 

You can never block all the "random" autodialers but, again, less incoming noise is still less incoming noise. 

The CRTC has mandated all Canadian telcoms implement Universal Network-Level Call Blocking (a sort of spam/nuisance filter built into the network) no later than 19 Dec 2019. Telus (along with it's Koodo/Public subsidiaries) is the only operator which hasn't yet installed/announced a working UNCB system.

https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-484.htm

[will13am]

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@Lar wrote:

@youvegotmail  I don't get a lot of spam but the ones I do get I report to the DNC site after blocking them on my phone.

https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en/Consumer/File-a-complaint/#!/

Don't know if it helps but I feel better having done something.  Cheers

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I used to have faith in the DNC but no longer.  Much of the spam comes from out of country where they don't care about Canadian laws.  To that end the DNC becomes their white pages.  At the end of the day, it is up to the end user to keep the junk mail out of the mail box so to speak.  Any calling app that is worth using has spam notification/blocking capabilities.  

[88cranston]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

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@youvegotmail wrote:

My dad has a Public Mobile account and he received a lot of scam calls. He had to manually block each and every one of those numbers. We got tired of doing this, so we changed our phone number to new one. Frequent scam calls are coming to this new number too. Public Mobile must carry phone numbers that other carriers rejected, because they have too many bad batches. Whoever had our phone numbers before us, must've received a lot of scam calls to those numbers too.

Public Mobile, besides telling me to manually block those scam numbers, can you please give me a solution to this problem? What can you do from your end, to help? I've already changed my phone number hoping that this will stop scam calls, but my new number is getting as many scam calls as my old number. I've registered my number with the Do Not Call List. This isn't helping at all.

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One suggestion is to not post your cell number on sites like facebook or twitter.

Don't answer the phone unless you recognize the caller...as you know, once you answer, they know it's an active phone number.

Others will provide further suggestions but once it starts...tough to have them cease.

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Do not use your phone number on any ads selling stuff like Craigslist, Kijjiji, others. Make up an email to use and use it only for responding to your ad. 

[88cranston]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

If you don't recognize the caller or you're not expecting a call from an unknown number...just don't answer it. After about a week or 10 days...they'll stop calling as long as you don't answer. As soon as you answer 1 call, they know it's an active number and that number will get redialed...frequently.  Register with the DNC lists.

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@danielfu wrote:

I am also having scam calls everyday. I don't think it is because of public moblie. My friend also using public moblie and he dose not recive scam like me.

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@hairbag1  But also keep in mind the calls in Chinese language leave a message.....so they know the number is active. 

[hairbag1]

If you don't recognize the caller or you're not expecting a call from an unknown number...just don't answer it. After about a week or 10 days...they'll stop calling as long as you don't answer. As soon as you answer 1 call, they know it's an active number and that number will get redialed...frequently.  Register with the DNC lists.

And DON"T give your number to any retailer...no matter what they say. Alot of retailers want your number...to share with other retailers and who-know-who else !!

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@danielfu wrote:

I am also having scam calls everyday. I don't think it is because of public moblie. My friend also using public moblie and he dose not recive scam like me.

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[88cranston]

It is odd you are getting so many. I block them (home and mobile) as soon as it happens. Rarely get any more. I do check them on 800Notes though, just to see what some of them are about.  These scammers often spuffi their caller ID number. Spuffi is easy to do if you are using VoIP calling. So blocking might be useless. But I feel confident in doing so......if their number is not in my contact list, then 98% of the time it is a spam call and of course the odd real misdialled call. I have also contacted Telus about both home and mobile spam calls but nothing can be done......but do your due diligence and report it.....keep the pressure on with Telco and CTRC. We were gettting those calls recorded in Chinese 3 times a week. And they have been reduced immensely......some one has done something about it!

BLOCK, BLOCK AND BLOCK SOME MORE!

Don’t forget, the DNC is a list! It allows charities, surveys and political parties to call. We have both been on and off the DNC registration and have and will remain OFF. It does NOT work. And do you really think when Westjet and Microsoft calls you from India, that they honour the list....nada! I block them all. The calls from India......I ask them if their mother knows what they do for a job. They never respond.....I wonder why?

[danielfu]

I am also having scam calls everyday. I don't think it is because of public moblie. My friend also using public moblie and he dose not recive scam like me.

[popping]

@youvegotmail 

PM allows only one number change per 30 days.  But you can port number from other provider as often as you want.

You can buy a $1 Bell SIM card from eBay and activate a Bell prepaid number and port it to PM.  Good luck to get a number without spam calls.

[computergeek541]

@youvegotmail There isn't such thing as "bad batches" of phone numbers. Carriers assign/let customers choose from phone numbers that they have available. This includes phone numbers that may have been used before. You could always port in a phone number from a different carrier if you have service with them, but there's a possibility that this all could happen again.

[totalUser]

Hi @youvegotmail 

Would you consider changing it again but next time search for the number before selecting it to make sure it's not already out and about.

Did it start right away when you changed it or did it take some time. Maybe one of the services you are using is passing it around.

Also consider getting fongo for the secondary number to hand out to services. Even place where my family got car gave my phone, i was dumb enough to give it to them for sms notifications

[Lar]

@youvegotmail  I don't get a lot of spam but the ones I do get I report to the DNC site after blocking them on my phone.

https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en/Consumer/File-a-complaint/#!/

Don't know if it helps but I feel better having done something.  Cheers

[hairbag1]

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@youvegotmail wrote:

My dad has a Public Mobile account and he received a lot of scam calls. He had to manually block each and every one of those numbers. We got tired of doing this, so we changed our phone number to new one. Frequent scam calls are coming to this new number too. Public Mobile must carry phone numbers that other carriers rejected, because they have too many bad batches. Whoever had our phone numbers before us, must've received a lot of scam calls to those numbers too.

Public Mobile, besides telling me to manually block those scam numbers, can you please give me a solution to this problem? What can you do from your end, to help? I've already changed my phone number hoping that this will stop scam calls, but my new number is getting as many scam calls as my old number. I've registered my number with the Do Not Call List. This isn't helping at all.

---

One suggestion is to not post your cell number on sites like facebook or twitter.

Don't answer the phone unless you recognize the caller...as you know, once you answer, they know it's an active phone number.

Others will provide further suggestions but once it starts...tough to have them cease.

[mimmo · Accepted solution]

public can't do anything other than suggest you block numbers, or change your number again in 30 days.  

what phone are you using i think both apple and android have spam calling apps you can use. the one i recall i think is called trucaller (or something similar)