After teasing a new Un-carrier announcement earlier this week, T-Mobile today revealed what its next big move is going to be.
Scam Shield is a new effort from T-Mobile to help protect its customers from scammers. It actually includes a handful of different tools and features that'll be free for T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, and Sprint subscribers.
First up is Scam ID and Scam Block. These are features T-Mo has been offering for a while now, but they're part of the carrier's overall fight against scammers. With Scam ID, incoming calls that are suspected to be scams will be labeled "Scam Likely" so you don't have to bother answering.
Scam Block is a feature that'll let you block those "Scam Likely" calls from hitting your phone at all so you won't be bothered. T-Mobile and Metro customers can enable Scam Block right now by dialing #662# from their phone.
Next is enhanced caller ID. This used to be a feature that you'd have to pay for, but now T-Mobile, Metro, and Sprint customers will get a free ID on incoming calls so they'll no longer have to see "Unknown" and wonder if the call is legit or not.
T-Mobile is also handing out a free second phone number. Called T-Mobile Proxy, this is a free phone number that you can give out for contests, loyalty programs, and anywhere else you don't want to share your real phone number.
This free Proxy number doesn't require a second device or extra line, and it gets its own voicemail inbox so messages don't clog up your real voicemail box. Plus, you can share your Proxy number with family members so they can use it, too.
T-Mobile's Proxy number will be available free to customers on Magenta, Magenta for Business, and Essentials plans, with one Proxy number available free for each account.
If you already get a bunch of spam calls to your real phone number and you just want to start fresh, you can do that, too. T-Mobile is offering a free phone number change, letting you get rid of your current personal number and get a new one for no charge.
Finally, there's Be ID Aware. T-Mobile is partnering with McAfee on this identity monitoring service that'll scan the dark web and notify you if your private info has appeared there. It can also help you if your personal info has been compromised with aid in changing passwords, putting credit freezes in place, and even cancelling and replacing credit cards.
Be ID Aware will be available free for 12 months for T-Mobile, Metro, and Sprint customers. You'll be able to sign up for the service between July 24 and August 31 while supplies last. T-Mobile customers will sign up here, while Sprint customers can enroll here.
All of these new features will be rolled up into T-Mobile's new Scam Shield app. It's launching on July 24 and will be your one-stop shop for turning on Scam Block, finding out how to get a Proxy number, accessing the free caller ID, and checking out a dashboard that'll show your blocked calls in real-time.
T-Mobile also plans to offer Scam Shield Premium. Priced at $4 per line per month or free for Magenta Plus customers, this service offers the ability to block specific kinds of scam and robocalls, like telemarketers; the option to create "always block" lists, and voicemail-to-text service.
Folks on Sprint can get these features in the Call Screener app, which is available for download on iOS and comes preloaded on Android phones. The app will get an upgrade on July 24 to offer scam ID and blocking plus caller ID. And as Sprint customers transition to T-Mobile, they'll be able to download the aforementioned Scam Shield app.
What do you think of T-Mobile's latest Un-carrier move? Do you get a lot of scammers and robocalls bothering you?