Protect Yourself From Scam Calls

I was busy making dinner when my cell phone rang and I grabbed it absentmindedly and answered. A concerned gentleman on the other end of the line informed me that my Windows computer had been sending them error messages and he was calling to help me fix my computer. I chuckled to myself as I hung up on him muttering under my breath “I have a Mac!”.

While I got a bit of a kick out of my scam call that evening, what isn’t funny is the sheer number of scam calls that are hitting all of our phones these days. Since I use my cell phone for my business, I tend to actually answer most calls even if the number doesn’t look familiar. If you feel like you’re getting as many spam calls as you are real calls, you’re probably right. Experts say that nearly half of all mobile calls this year will be robo-spam, according to First Orion. We are talking numbers to the tune of 7.1 million spam calls PER HOUR!!!

What is also not funny is the amount of money that scammers are stealing from people. In the last year, Americans have been scammed out of over $10 billion. That is absolutely horrible. Why do people fall for these scams and actually turn over personal information and money? Scammers are getting more and more clever and using tactics like spoofing local business numbers or using numbers that look similar to your own number. They claim to be from the IRS, Medicare or your credit card and sounds very convincing.

T-Mobile starting helping their customers fight back against scammers way back in 2017 when they introduced Scam ID and Scam Block services. Scam ID alerts customers when an incoming call is likely from a scammer by labeling it “scam likely”. This service is included with your regular service if you are a T-Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile customer. You don’t have to download an app or buy additional services – you’re covered!

Scam Block stops scam calls through the T-Mobile network and they never even reach your phone so you are never even disturbed with a ring. How much would you pay for THAT service??? While you do have to enable Scam Block, it is also free with your regular service. You can turn it on in your TMobile account or by dialing #662# or your T-Mobile or Metro phone.

Want even more control over who calls you? You’ll want to check out the Name ID app. You can see all the calls that Scam Block is stopping, can block and unblock callers from your call log, manage entire categories of calls such as telemarketers, political surveys and charity solicitations as well as reverse lookup calls from unknown numbers (even if they aren’t in your address book!). Name ID is included in the T-Mobile Magenta Plus Plans or can be added on to other plans for $4/month.

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.