Verizon is now rolling out a free service to help customers combat robocalls.
A free version of Verizon's Call Filter service is beginning to roll out today. With it, you can be alerted when an incoming call is likely spam, report unsolicited phone numbers, and automatically block robocalls based on your preferred level of risk. This free Call Filter service is available to all postpaid customers, though features will vary depending on the type of phone you have.
Verizon also offers a premium version of Call Filter. Priced at $2.99 per line per month, it includes all of the features of the free Call Filter service and adds features like the ability to identify unknown callers by name, support for creating a personal block list, and a spam number lookup feature.
There's a Call Filter app available for iOS devices that can be downloaded today. Verizon says that "most" Android devices come preloaded with the Call Filter app and a 10-day free trial of the paid version of the service.
Verizon also confirmed today that in the coming months, it will begin to deploy STIR and SHAKEN technologies on its interconnections with all major carriers. This week, Verizon completed calls to and from its network using STIR and SHAKEN tech.
STIR and SHAKEN are technologies that aim to help consumers avoid spam and robocalls. When enabled, STIR and SHAKEN will verify that the phone number shown on the caller ID is the phone number that actually placed this call. This helps to fight caller ID spoofing, a popular spam technique that uses the same area code and three-digit prefix of the person they're calling to make their call appear authentic.