Verizon takes on neighborhood spoofing scams

Call Filter now allows customers to silence calls that try to trick you with your own area code and prefix

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — You know those pesky calls — the ones you receive from unfamiliar numbers that have the same area code and prefix as yours, but that aren’t from anyone you know. Scammers use this tactic — called neighbor or neighborhood spoofing — to trick you into answering their call. Verizon has good news for you, and bad news for the bad guys. Our free Call Filter app now includes Neighborhood Filter, which allows you to silence and send neighborhood spoofing calls to voicemail, along with those in any other area codes and prefix combinations that could be suspect. This launch is part of our ongoing commitment to protect you from unwanted calls.

Neighborhood Filter features and functionality

This new feature, available to Call Filter Free and Call Filter Plus customers using most Verizon-purchased smartphones, can be activated in the Call Filter app under “Block Filters” in the “Management” section. Call Filter Free app users can block up to five additional neighborhood entries on top of their own, and Call Filter Plus customers can add up to ten additional neighborhood entries. Customers can access step-by-step instructions to activate the Neighborhood Spoofing feature in Call Filter on either iOS or Android.

The Neighborhood Filter will block all calls that fall within that neighborhood, even legitimate ones, unless the phone number is saved in your contacts. If the filter blocks a call you wanted to receive, you can select “Ignore Filter” in the post-call details in the Call Filter app and it will not be blocked again. The filters can be removed at any time by tapping “Remove” next to the neighborhood in the “Other Filters” section of the “Block Management” page.

All the benefits of Call Filter at your fingertips

The Neighborhood Filter is the latest enhancement to Call Filter, which gives you the power to block or avoid many of these robocalls at no cost. While Call Filter auto blocks high risk (Potential Fraud) calls, you may choose to block all spam risk levels in order to silence spam callers from reaching your device with just a few taps on the free Call Filter app or by going to My Verizon.

In addition to the free spam protection benefits of Verizon’s free Call Filter app, postpaid customers can upgrade to Call Filter Plus for $2.99 per month, which offers more features, including:

• Caller Name ID
• Spam LookUp
• Personal Block List
• Spam Risk Meter

Verizon’s robocall prevention gives you peace of mind both far and wide

Verizon’s work to combat robocalls has led the industry forward, with over 78 million customers protected from over 13 billion unwanted calls and counting. We have been driving adoption of STIR/SHAKEN, an industry-wide effort that helps verify that a call is in fact from the number displayed on the Caller ID and not spoofed. And we recently confirmed that we met the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) industry mandate to sign calls with STIR/SHAKEN.

Visit “Protecting Customers from Robocalls” to learn more about our ongoing work to help prevent these pesky calls and tools to help block or avoid robocalls.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $128.3 billion in 2020. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:
Kate Jay
kate.jay@verizon.com
@KateHarrisJay