Spam calls from 7 digit numbers

[OmarD]

Hello everyone,

I have a bit of an issue. Out of the blue I have started getting spam calls from random 7 digit numbers, I don't have time to pick the calls up they just ring for a couple seconds then hang up. This started today and has gotten really annoying really quickly. Hiya (spam blocker inbuilt in my Samsung phone) caught only the number that dialed the latest as a spam number, but for three others it made matters worse by saying that they were "International Calls". I suspect that these are spoofed numbers. Is there a way I can block all 7 digit numbers from Public themselves, or am I stuck like this. I will finish my first month with Public in 3 days.

Thanks in advance,

Omar D

[darlicious]

Never-say-Never @Nezgar  strikes again!

[Nezgar]

@Meow If you don't want to have to dialin to your voicemail to delete junk voicemails, I highly recommend checking out Youmail.com. Then all voicemails are just sent as email as a sound file attachment, and a text transcription if there was any intelligible speech. No need for their app, and any calls they classify as scams or junk are automatically blocked/prevented from leaving a message.

After creating a free account, you basically just reprogram all 3 of your conditional forwards that normally direct to a public mobile voicemail number, to one of their numbers instead. Choose Telus as the carrier and their instructions will say which codes to dial to program the conditional call forward changes. If you goof it up, you can "undo" any of the settings with ##004# to restore PM voicemail service.

[Meow]

The more technology gets into our lives the more it gets abused.

I do not know WHO actually gets spammed but obviously some people do as spammers thrive all over the world.

I keep my phone off (airplane mode) most of the time and all these spam calls go into voice mail. It becomes PITA as now I have to access my vmail and either listen to some nonsense (sometimes in foreign language) or listen to 'silence'. Then delete, etc.

Today I received a call from unknown number. That is easy to handle - I will block it. But spam vmail I cannot block as calls went directly into my vmail...

This is something we have to live with particularly when most likely number is spoofed...

I have golden rule for my land line: I answer only known numbers and 'unknown' as medical offices for some reason block numbers. Everything else - if you need me, leave voice mail. Spammers never leave vmail unless that is some annoying local politician vying for votes...

[darlicious]

@Nezgar 

Your advice never ceases to be additionally helpful in these matters. I'm happy you don't mind being our resident expert in this area. Many thanks for helping so many with your expertise.

[Nezgar · Accepted solution]

Since PM doesn't have any native "call control" feature like Telus and Koodo where unknown callers have to press a specific number before it actually rings through to your phone, all we have are phone app blocking, app based, and conditional forwarding customization.

The last post from @darlicious had some details I wrote in the past on how to setup conditional forwarding such as the *67*xxxxxxxxxx# code so that blocked or declined calls are routed somewhere other than your voicemail so that annoying calls at least dont further annoy you with voicemail messages you have to go and delete.

One option for destination is 3063370005 which just says your line is for outgoing calls only... or 226224SPAM which goes to a bot thats designed to waste telemarketers time.

There are apps out there that lookup the caller id and if flagged as spam, will automatically decline the call for you. But since I hate installing extra apps, simply declining a call I can clearly see is junk will divert it from my voicemail. The other option is that since connect time costs spammers money, and even PM's $15 plan includes free incoming calls, is to just answer the call, and you can then just put the phone down LOL.

My stock android 8.0 calling app has the option to enter numbers to block (aka automatically decline) but does not support any wildcard functions, but my old Samsung galaxy S4 which has their own calling app does - Ie an entry can be "306555*" to block any call from 306555XXXX. See what your phone supports. Otherwise you might need a 3rd party app to assist with this function.

Good luck!

[darlicious]

@OmarD 

I'm sure @Nezgar will have some clever tips to help you deal with this annoying intrusion . In the meantime read thru his post on conditional/unconditional call forwarding which will help deter these spammers with the options they can offer...

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

I wrote about conditional call forwarding way back here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Using-Your-Service/Fun-with-Conditional-Call-forwardi...

In brief, there are three types of "conditional" call forwarding - all are set to Public Mobile voicemail by default, but can be changed: When busy (or blocked, declined), when offline (ie airplane mode), and when no answer.

You can use these to utilize voicemail from another provider - for example, if you sign up for a free account from YouMail, fongo mobile, TextNow, your unanswered and missed calls will be sent to your number at these systems - and the first two will send you an email with a sound file attachment of the voicemail. YouMail will even try to transcribe it to text as well which works very well, and most of the time you don't even have to listen to the message! If you are travelling outside of Canada without a roaming plan, this will allow you to continue to receive voicemails, and if on Wifi, potentially continue to receive calls forwarded to these services as well.

Then there is "unconditional" call forwarding that always immediately forwards, regardless of the state of the phone. I use this sometimes when I'm at work, or at home and would like to have my incoming calls go to a "higher quality" connection...

So.. here's the commands you can dial:

Query conditional no answer forward: *#61#

Set conditional no answer forward: *61*xxxyyyzzzz#

Reset conditional no answer forward back to Public Mobile Default: ##61#

Query conditional unreachable forward: *#62#

Set conditional unreachable forward: *62*xxxyyyzzzz#

Reset conditional unreachable forward back to Public Mobile Default: ##67#

Query conditional busy/decline forward: *#67#

Set conditional busy/decline forward: *67*xxxyyyzzzz#

Reset conditional busy/decline forward back to Public Mobile Default: ##67#

(Set or reset all three of the above at the same time using 004 instead of 61/62/67)

And lastly:

Query unconditional forward: *#21#

Set unconditional forward: *21*xxxyyyzzzz#

Reset unconditional forward back to inactive: ##21#

[hTideGnow]

@OmarD  this is really not a PM issue.  It can happen to anyone from any provider.

When you first join PM, did you pick new number instead of porting an old number?  If that is the case and you are not too attached to this new number yet, would you consider changing the number?    If so, try to pick from new area code instead of picking from old one.  Numbers from old area code are likely reassigned number and might have more history than numbers from new area code.

[computergeek541]

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@OmarD wrote:

I have a bit of an issue. Out of the blue I have started getting spam calls from random 7 digit numbers, I don't have time to pick the calls up they just ring for a couple seconds then hang up. This started today and has gotten really annoying really quickly. Hiya (spam blocker inbuilt in my Samsung phone) caught only the number that dialed the latest as a spam number, but for three others it made matters worse by saying that they were "International Calls". I suspect that these are spoofed numbers. Is there a way I can block all 7 digit numbers from Public themselves, or am I stuck like this. I will finish my first month with Public in 3 days.

Public Mobile does not provide any call management/blocking options to customers. Anything that you try needs to be done at the device level.  Samsung phones running Android usually have an option to send all calls not saved in the contact list to voicemail.  You'll need to decide if that option is feasible for you. There are all some third party call blocking apps, some of which allow for the use of wildcards when setting the numbers to be blocked.