In 2021, scammers called at least a third of Russians, and in the first half of 2020, the total number of crimes related to cards and transfers increased by 600%, according to Roskachestvo. This means that not all subscribers can recognize fraudulent calls and protect themselves. However, there are several ways you can help minimize these risks.
People with old phone numbers that have been in use for several years are the most affected by fraudulent calls, because they managed to get into several different databases used by scammers at once. These databases are replenished also because of ourselves - we easily give our mobile number many times in order to receive various services and to register on sites. It's not a secret for anyone that databases with contacts roam the Internet from hand to hand, they are periodically "leaked", and therefore do not be surprised if an unknown person suddenly calls you, introduces himself as an employee of a bank or a well -known organization and calls you by name. This does not mean at all that the call is not a fake.
The situation with telephone scammers has already reached unprecedented proportions, when every Russian with a telephone is at risk. Even if you are not an easy target for a scammer and you know the digital security rules, regular calls from unknown numbers are quite annoying.
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOAN?
Spam calls are the scourge of our time. Various companies recognize our contacts just as easily as scammers: from various databases "merged" into the Network, or you yourself once voluntarily shared your phone number with a company representative. Loan offers, "opinion polls", calls from telecom operators, advertisements of other various services - such calls are poured on our heads every day. And, of course, during a call, it is difficult to understand whether you are interested in the caller's offer, because most often such calls come suddenly, when you are busy with your own business and are not at all expecting a “favorable loan offer ”.Of course, surely someone may be happy with such calls and is not going to "disconnect" them. But if you would like to get rid of spam calls - these recommendations are for you.
The key question, the answer to which will solve the problem of sudden offers and fraudulent calls - how to block the ability to call you for attackers and sales departments? This can be done using the settings of the phones themselves, mobile operators and special programs.
OS-LEVEL PROTECTION
Android
Some smartphones using the Android operating system have a built-in function to block calls from unknown numbers. It should be noted that the built-in Do Not Disturb mode is not always suitable for solving the problem of unnecessary calls, since the beeps will continue to go off and not be blocked. Also, in some smartphones with Russian localization there is confusion in the name of the function "Block unknown subscribers", "Unknown numbers" or "Unknown", which means blocking not unknown numbers to the user, but calls from hidden numbers (which is also a useful function for some).The easiest way is to set up blocking calls from unknown numbers for a subscriber on Xiaomi: open "Settings", scroll to the "Applications" section, select "System applications" - "Call settings" - "Antispam" - "Call blocking" ... Next, you need to activate the functions: "Block calls from strangers" and "Block calls from hidden numbers: block calls from unknown".
The blocking procedure looks a little more complicated on Huawei smartphones: you need to click on the "three dots" at the bottom of the screen on the right, select "Blocked", then "Blocking rules" - "Call blocking rules: select All unfamiliar numbers ".
Many phones (for example, the Samsung Galaxy series) do not have this built-in function, and you will have to use third-party solutions, for example, caller IDs, which will be discussed later.
iOS
In the mobile operating system from Apple, the user can set the "Mute unknown", so as not to receive calls from strangers. In this case, calls will be blocked in general from all subscribers who are not in the contact list and with whom you have never communicated from this device using these numbers. However, if previously there was a contact with the subscriber by SMS or the number came by e-mail, then the calls will come to you.To set Unknown Mute, go to Settings, then Phone and scroll down. Once activated, calls from unknown numbers will be received without sound, forwarded to the answering machine and displayed in the list of recent calls. Apple has also taken care of emergencies: if a subscriber makes an emergency call, the Unknown Mute feature is automatically disabled for 24 hours so that iPhone can receive any calls.
PROTECTION AT THE OPERATOR LEVEL
All mobile operators of the Big Four - Beeline, Megafon, MTS and Tele2 - have their own services to limit unwanted contacts. They can be paid and free: for example, these are the services "Black List", "Antispam", "SMS-filter", the ability to block calls and SMS.All operators also have an identifier service, which helps to identify, among other things, calls from hidden numbers (the same operators, however, also have the Anti-Identifier counter-service, for which their identifier does not work). Interestingly stands out against this background "MTS Who Calls" - a separate application that checks the databases of well-known organizations (as well as fraudsters) and tells with a significant degree of probability why they call you.
As an alternative to operators' solutions, you can install an application on your phone that will allow you to identify and cut off the fraudster even before you pick up the phone.
PROTECTION AT THE LEVEL ON
A useful application that saves a huge amount of time and effort for a smartphone user is a number identifier (more precisely, their “categorizer”, which assigns a tag to a number of one activity or another and shows them to the caller).Many applications are available for the Russian user - caller IDs on both Android and iOS. The first smart phone book of this kind was 2GIS Dialer, which is currently no longer supported (however, the option can be enabled if you have the 2GIS application installed).
Kaspersky Lab has its own identifier application for both platforms - Kaspersky Who Calls. Since 2019, you can install your own identifier application from Yandex, which uses data about numbers from its own database, including based on user reviews, as well as from the directory of organizations.
Applications of this kind use feedback and self-learning. The application detects the type of services offered automatically when you call - it will tell you what it is: an offer of financial services, a call from a bank, or just an unwanted call. If you pick up the phone, the application after the call will ask you whether it was really an unwanted call, and if not, it will ask you to indicate the nature of these services in order to supplement the "portrait" of the number in the database.
To date, qualifiers have been very successful in recognizing telemarketing of banks and MFOs, as well as robots and fraudsters that have already been noticed and entered into the database.
Of course, the caller ID has a drawback: the developer asks for your permission and gets access to the phone book, knows who called you, who you called and how long the conversation lasted. Therefore, you need to be very careful about such applications and choose only well-known and proven services that you trust, with good reviews and high ratings.
Do not use little-known applications with a small number of downloads, as you provide your caller ID with your data, and if you come across unscrupulous developers, you can become a victim of data leakage.
