Spam calls in the Chinese language.

[CountyDownIeUk]

For some reason my wife’s number receives far more than I. From what I understand the calls are threatening and may have a referral to a courier company. 

And yes I am aware that caller ID numbers can be spoofed. 

Most calls appear to originate in Canada with a city, province, and phone number in the North American format. 

BUT

The last 2 calls, hours apart from each other show caller ID is from a city and province in China with the appropriate for China phone number format. 

So North America has issues with 5G running on Huawei, and China does not like that. China is well known for collecting data any which way they can (legal or illegal) about us of which the latest is the APP that all athletes at the olympics must use and must install weeks ahead of time.

So....are any of these SPAM  calls a concern, a trap, a virus or way of tracking us?

Should these calls not be a concern to the Telcos or the Canadian government?

[CountyDownIeUk]

Thanks for your replies.  

Some may have missed my point. 

Correct I don't understand the Chinese message.

They might be only connecting Chinese to Chinese at very small percentage. 

That type of spam call has been around for years. 

The originator of the calls are not stupid.  

Calls seem to have targeted some numbers  more than others. 

Calls now show they originate from China. 

China government is not to be trusted and I just wonder if there is another underlying reason for them. I think there is. 

Only receive calls on cell phone ...not.... land line. 

We have turned our DND  on to only accept calls in our contacts list. 

[Nezgar]

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@BKNS27 wrote:

I also got a V number once maybe twice.

Not much I can do other than block the number.

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So, the "V number" is not the number, just the CNAM (caller ID name display) - which can also be forged. There will be an actual 10-digit number if you look more closely at the call log, or use whatever option shows additional call details.

Keep in mind that "blocking the number" on a cel phone merely immediately activates the "busy/decline" conditional call forward, which by default goes to your voicemail. All it really does is redirect the call to your voicemail faster, increasing the likelihood the junk call will result in a junk voicemail you then have to go and delete. This is the same destination calls are forwarded to when you manually decline an incoming call.

With Public Mobile you do have the flexibility to reprogram the number that blocked and declined calls are directed to. To direct these calls to a dead-end (fast busy, endless ring, or error message) set it to 000-000-0000 by dialing *67*0000000000# - You can undo/reset this back to default voicemail by dialing ##67#

Or you can also send those calls to the number I setup for an automated bot to deal with telemarketers - Lenny - the telemarketers worst nightmare: 226-444-SPAM (7726)

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Lenny-the-Telemarketers-worst-nightmare/m...

You can listen to many of the call recordings from a link on this page:

http://lenny.voiceopia.net/

[BKNS27]

@CountyDownIeUk 

Answer to your question if I am concerned about Chinese spam...not really. I just ignore and block spam calls.

Won't understand what is said in the message anyways. 

[darlicious]

@CountyDownIeUk 

It's all just random percentages....you are not even a real target. It's pretty hard to be s scammed when you don't even speak the language. Just install Lenny....he repels calls naturally. As soon as I set my busy/declined call forwarding to him I haven't had a single chance to have some fun.??

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Lenny-the-Telemarketers-worst-nightmare/m...

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[CountyDownIeUk]

@BKNS27 

I rarely get the V number calls...but on my voip account it would show the real number. 

Some times the spam calls....caller ID.....is the name and not the phone number. And you can jack around with the name to also be a number. 

The same 3 digits is just a subliminal game to see if you would more than likely answer. 

So crafty they are. 

I just turned on DND for “all the time” to accept calls “only from contact list”. I spent a few days making sure we have every and any number in contacts that we would expect. I will assume those numbers rejected will still show in recents and will be able to still leave voicemail? From there I can add any missed ones to our contacts. 

Never the less still wonder if the Chinese spam calls should be more of a concern for all of us. 

[BKNS27]

@CountyDownIeUk 

I am constantly getting calls every other day from spoofed number from the same area code and first three digit of my number.

Yes it would be great to see the real number at the spoofers are hiding behind.

I also got a V number once maybe twice.

Not much I can do other than block the number.

[softech]

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@Zyl wrote:

@softech  what would be more useful would be if they are able to display the actual number of the spoofer 

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@Zyl 

Most of them do not have a real number, they are system generated calls

I have a VoIP, it will show the "real" number in the Call log, those numbers are like V12111100600013

[Zyl]

@softech  what would be more useful would be if they are able to display the actual number of the spoofer in addition to the spoofed number so we can know who's behind the attack and do something about it.  Canada built the cellphone network backbone structure in China.  There is no way that Canada cannot do something about these attacks.  

[softech]

To be honest, the STIR/SHAKEN is not useful at all, keep in mind STIR/SHAKEN does NOT block calls, it will "only show validated calls as “verified” or display calls as normal."      Honest , when I see an caller display showing a number with the same area code and exchange as mine (area code + first 3 digits), and I don't recognize the number, I know it is a Caller ID Spoofing already..  So, in reality, it is not much difference with this technology

[CountyDownIeUk]

@softech 

Good to hear. Another half a$$ fix by CTRC? 

That won’t really help until every one has new phones. 

And @0PX9O4 

I have not heard from my voip provider that I cannot use the caller ID that I use in my sub accounts. They are my numbers but I could use any legit number as well. 

@Meow 

Correct. I have only read what they are about. You can also find out about some numbers at 800Notes.  Perhaps there are some Chinese speaking members here that can enlighten us about the content of the call and voice mails  that they leave. 

[Zyl]

@CountyDownIeUk  might have something to do with the most recent accusation of some documents sent from Canada that supposedly contained COVID virus which caused the first case of COVID-19 in Beijing.  LOL. The most absurd garbage I have ever heard.   Try to see if you can block the numbers by region if you don't know anybody from China.  

[softech]

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It's a caller-ID authentication mechanism known as STIR/SHAKEN, and its implementation has been delayed multiple times by Canadian telcos.

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The implmentation is now completed.  You just need to have a latest and greatest phone to take advantage.  for now, look like Pixel 6/6Pro will work, Samsung devices with OneUI 4.0 (Android 12) will , too.  Not sure about iPhone

Does STIR/SHAKEN block calls?

No. STIR/SHAKEN will only show validated calls as “verified” or display calls as normal.

Does my mobile device support the STIR/SHAKEN feature?

At the time of launch on November 30, 2021, most devices are not capable of supporting STIR/SHAKEN and, therefore, will not display “verified” for incoming calls. These devices will continue to display calls as they normally do today.

Once your device is capable of supporting STIR/SHAKEN, then validated calls will automatically display on your handset as “verified”. No action will be required of you.

(ref: https://www.telus.com/en/bc/support/article/stir-shaken-mobile-devices-explained) 

[Meow]

That all might be correct what you stated in last sentence but is there a way to stop them? I do not think so. You can file complain with CRTC but I would not hold my breath.

It could be that somebody in China dialed wrong number. Unless you can understand what they are saying you cannot claim calls are threatening.

[0PX9O4]

@CountyDownIeUk 

They are a concern to both the telcos and the government. The solution for it is being implemented, albeit way too slowly. It's a caller-ID authentication mechanism known as STIR/SHAKEN, and its implementation has been delayed multiple times by Canadian telcos.

I'm hoping these calls will become a thing of the past within the next year or two 🤞🏼