Tutor
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4 Messages
Why does AT&T allow phone number spoofing?
Shortly after completed talking to a business in Greenville, SC, I received a call from Greenville, SC but was a scam as started with notifying me my SSN had been suspended. I did not bother to listen to the rest of the recording. How is it that Scammers were able to determine I had just completed a call I had made to a company in Greenville, SC. Does the Phone industry need government regulations or will it secure its networks and systems to stop the scams? The AT&T Fraud site does provide information for customers to take but there is nothing a customer can do to prevent event being bothered by scams if AT&T systems and networks are vulnerable.
sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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64.7K Messages
5 years ago
It is not a matter of allowing it. It is something that can't be stopped. This issue is not unique to ATT. It is an issue with all phone service providers. Please educate yourself before making accusations.
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Mtr3com
Tutor
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4 Messages
5 years ago
Okay, ACE Expert, why can’t it be stopped? I mentioned it is a phone industry problem. Have you been following the news and government reports regarding this problem? There is regulation under consideration to counter robocalling but spoofing phone numbers is generally legal unless used for malicious purposes which means enforcement is after the action. The decision-makers in U.S. companies are problem-solvers they just need the motivation - usually profit but also regulation. This is a problem that can be solved. Have you seen the ingenious apps for countering Robocalls?
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sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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64.7K Messages
5 years ago
Ok, perhaps inaccurate to say it can't be stopped but more accurate to say it is very difficult to stop. There are actually legitimate uses for number spoofing. For example, any call coming from a business always showing the same corporate business number, maybe an 800 number, rather than the actual business number it is coming from. Placing a call from a cellular enabled smart watch but having the call come from the phone number it is paired with is another example of legitimate spoofing. Simply stopping or blocking all spoofed calls would stop the legitimate uses as well. So, yes it is a problem that can be solved but it takes a solution that all phone providers agree with, otherwise its not a solution. I'm not sure if your comment about "the ingenious apps for countering Robocalls" is an endorsement or a dig but I happen to use ATT's Call Protect app. It doesn't stop all the robocalls but it does help. Those that still get through are the ones likely spoofing a local number, but I never answer them anyway.
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