Verizon is the latest carrier to start automatically enrolling customers for its free spam and robocall detection app service.
Currently, Verizon will only auto-enroll postpaid customers with eligible Android devices. Customers with iOS devices can download Verizon’s Call Filter app to enroll themselves.
Features of Verizon’s free version include alerts that a call is potentially spam, and blocking known fraudulent numbers by sending them straight to voicemail.
In earlier July the Federal Communications Commission authorized telephone companies to start automatically blocking robocalls without the need for consumers to opt-in and pressed carriers to implement STIR/SHAKEN authentication protocols across networks by year-end.
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A Verizon spokesperson told FierceWireless that the carrier has implemented STIR/SHAKEN, and is currently exchanging traffic with Comcast. Verizon is working with the other major carriers to exchange additional traffic by the end of the year. The representative said that information is used by the Call Filter app today to ensure Verizon is presenting even more accurate information for detecting and correcting the calls identified as potential spam.
Both T-Mobile and AT&T previously announced cross-network authentication work with each other, and separately with Comcast.
When the FCC authorized robocall blocking by default, the agency said it expected carriers to provide services for free, though did not make that a requirement.
Major carriers have been stepping up efforts to fight the daily scourge of robocalls, including the recent signing of a pledge with attorneys general from every state and the District of Columbia to implement principles to fight robocalls.
While most the major offer free blocking and detection services, each, including Verizon, also offer enhanced features for an added fee.
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Verizon’s Call Filter Plus service costs about $3 per month per line and offers added features of identifying unknown numbers, personal spam and block lists, a risk meter and spam lookup.
T-Mobile offers ScamID and ScamBlock at no cost, to identify and block likely fraudulent calls. Its Name ID service is offered for $4 per month per line and identifies a callers’ name and location, blocks calls and can send categories of calls directly to voicemail.
AT&T in July started blocking robocalls by default. The carrier’s free Call Protect features include automatic fraud blocking, spam risk alerts and a personal block list. A premium version costs $4 per month and comes with added features of enhanced caller ID, reverse number lookup and custom call controls.
Sprint offers a Premium Caller ID app, charging $2.99 per month for the service that screens for unknown calls and provides spam warnings.