Feature Request to stop spam - require caller to say last name of person they are calling
nesmith6
Enthusiast - Level 1

Like most folks, I am receiving as many as 20 Spam Calls per day on my Verizon Wireless phone number.  I have an idea for a new feature that I believe would stop all of my spam calls.  I do not know if Verizon folks receive these discussion posts but I hope they do. 

Allow a customer, if the customer chooses, to require all callers to say a specific word before the call is connected.  Not a password but something very simple. For example, I would require the user to say my last name.  A business would likely require the user to say the name of the company. It should be something simple, quick, and easy for the caller to say. Most spam calls do not know who they are calling and/or are using an automated system to call.  If the caller was asked a simple question like "Please say the last name of the person you are calling" or "Please say the name of the business you are calling" and then if they did not say the correct response, then direct the call to voice mail (or to the number the customer set up for no-answer-forwarding). If the caller says the correct response, then that caller would be directed to the customer's cell phone.

This will fill up a voice mail system will these voice mails but this is occurring anyway if you do not answer the Spam Identified calls. Most spam calls leave dead air on a voice mail message and if you use a voice mail transcription service like I use, the customer will know immediately if the call was spam before even listening to the message.  

Verizon would have to perform some programming to get the phone system to allow the question to be asked and allow the user to answer. Verizon would have to perform some programming for a web based system on the MyVerizon site to allow the customer to set up the question and the correct answer (maybe even allow multiple answers to try to reduce or eliminate false rejections, especially for business names) and the system would need to match the caller's spoken word(s) to the word(s) the Verizon Customer sets up. Obviously, some legitimate folks would get sent to voicemail, even if they said the correct response if the system failed to recognize that they said the correct word(s) but I believe most customers would be satisfied with these false rejections as they still would not miss the caller's call because a legitimate caller would leave a message. 

This is better than Google Voice's Anti-Spam setup which requires the user to say their name and then requires the customer to approve the call based on the caller's recorded name.  This is too cumbersome for the person receiving the call which is why I do not use Google Voice's system to screen the calls.  The system I propose would be very quick for the caller and would not require extra effort by the customer and would essentially block 100% of Spam calls and would block all automated message calls (which I count as Spam calls, too, even if I do business with the company). 

I would pay extra money for this feature every month so the extra cost for Verizon Wireless to program this system could be covered by customers like me that would gladly accept a reasonable cost to enable this type of Spam Avoidance Feature. I believe many customers would be overjoyed with the ability to set up a system like this. Please consider this as I believe soon we will be receiving 100+ spam calls and at that point, there is no need even having voice cell phone service. Something drastic must be done soon. 

Thank you for considering my suggested new feature,

Christopher 

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

nesmith6 Just like you I have had it. I was receiving a lot more spam before I added the Verizon Filter. It's can't get all but a good majority have stopped. I love your suggestion, and will share it with the appropriate team. You however, should Google App developers and pitch your idea. Verizon isn't the only company dealing with this. -Dolores