The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission have been trying, at least in theory, to stop the robocalling scourge from spreading for many years now, but even though a recent survey estimated a mind-blowing 200 million unwanted calls go through every single day in the US, the nation's major carriers are finally taking action against the thing that threatens to kill the enjoyment of using a mobile phone in this day and age.
Well, at least two of the "big four" American wireless service providers are making a concerted effort to clean their networks of spammers, scammers, and number spoofers, as AT&T follows T-Mobile's suit in implementing the SHAKEN/STIR standard to offer its customers a little more peace of mind when receiving a call from someone they don't know.
Dubbed Caller Verified by Team Magenta and Call Validation on AT&T, the latest feature meant to reduce if not eliminate the robocalling threat altogether essentially lets you know the number displayed on your incoming call screen is legit. This way, you can easily dodge one of the oldest tricks in the robocalling book, which is number spoofing, a tactic employed by spammers and scammers to impersonate other people or organizations.
Of course, this doesn't technically defend you against robocallers using legit phone numbers, but AT&T has other mechanisms in place just for that. The carrier's Call Protect service includes everything from automatic fraud blocking to spam risk blocking, nuisance call warnings, and a personal block list tool, which is pretty great for something available at no charge to "millions of mobility customer lines."
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Unfortunately, both Call Protect and Call Validation are currently only available on three high-end Android devices. Namely, Samsung's Galaxy S10 and S10+, as well as the LG V40 ThinQ. If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to do anything special to get the newly released feature enabled on the aforementioned smartphones. You will simply start seeing a green checkmark and the words "Valid number" on your handset's display when an incoming call is authenticated. That's a small step forward for one carrier and... an even smaller one for the wireless industry as a whole.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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