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T-Mobile claims to have blocked 21 billion scam calls in 2021

Damn, that’s a lot of scam calls.

t-mobile scam shield app for robocallers
Image: KnowTechie

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If you went throughout the entire year without receiving a single spam call, consider yourself lucky. Unfortunately, they were out of control in 2021, with an average of 425 million calls every week, reports Bleeping Computer. But if you didn’t get any of these calls, there’s probably a reason why.

Thanks to its Scam Shield service, T-Mobile says it successfully blocked over 21 billion spam calls in 2021. Let that sink in for a bit: 21 billion spam calls. As a T-Mobile customer myself, let me be first to say thank you. Even though I get a couple here and there, it’s good to know that the company is blocking the bulk of them.

T-Mobile’s Scam Shield service launched last year, promising protection to all subscribers regardless of their plan. The service automatically screens suspicious calls as “scam likely” or blocks the call using several methods when a call comes in, as T-Mobile explains in its blog post.

“Attempted scam calls hit record highs in 2021, but with Scam Shield we are identifying or blocking an average 1.8 billion calls each month — or 700 calls per second! — for our T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers. We are the only provider protecting every single customer with the free scam-fighting tools in Scam Shield, regardless of their plan or device,” said Jon Freier, President, T-Mobile’s Consumer Group. 

So what kind of calls are getting caught in T-Mobile’s scam net? The company says more than half were fraudulent vehicle warranty scams, with others impersonated Social Security employees, wireless providers, car insurance companies, and package delivery services. And for some reason, the Dallas/Fort Worth area code is their most targeted area.

READ MORE: T-Mobile reigns supreme with the fastest mobile speeds in the US

If you’re an AT&T or Verizon customer, there’s no need to feel left out. AT&T says its ActiveArmor service blocked 16 billion spam calls since 2016, while Verizon claims its Call Filter service blocked 13 billion suspicious calls.

So the writing is on the wall; if you don’t have these features enabled on your device, toggle it on. I mean, unless you like receiving spam calls, then carry on.

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Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.

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