DesertRat96's Posts

I do have a concern: I use the app on both Android and iOS. Adding a number to the spam list is very cumbersome on both platforms. You have to add the number freehand in both, and when you switch windows to review the number you want to add from your call history, it gets zeroed out in the Caller Name ID apps. If you don't remember all 10 digits, or write them down elsewhere, you're hindered by not being able to access the number from the phone's call history. I can't seem to do a cut-n-paste either. If the app developers could make the simple change of being able to add from the call history, that would earn the apps an extra star rating from me. Question: Does adding numbers to the spam list on the app eventually add them to collective database?

From what I have seen, changing numbers does not slow down spammers. If I consider a change, it will be for reasons other than spammers, and not for some time to come. It's been more than coincidence that spammers have changed their calling method since subscribing to Caller Name ID. I will add that the number of calls has decreased. Some naysayers have posted the subscription not being worth the fee, but our lines are much quieter now. At the same time, I do report clusters of numbers from the same area to the FTC complaint site. The combination has had the biggest impact of reducing the clustered calls.

Hey, VZW Support. I subscribed to Caller Name ID. The apps are set to medium spam filter, and now the spammers are calling using No Caller ID, No Number. Some leave a voicemail, most do not. Are spammers able to detect a subscription to anti-spam services? Or are they simply savvy to circumventing the straight to voicemail process by going NCID-NN? Some are getting the hint, others are circumventing the subscription service SOP. But it's still 6-10 spammers per day on one line. I don't want to max out the setting because I don't have every trunk line of businesses I have a relationship added into my contact list.

Hey Verizon Support! I have a question regarding Caller Name ID service: Occasionally I will get an Unknown Caller from a medical office that is legitimate. How do I allow Unknown Callers to go through? I don't want to miss important calls because I subscribed to Caller Name ID. Also, I called a number back just to get them to stop. They said that "They only call numbers of people who filled out a form online requesting a phone call." So I did a look up online of the number. They are scammers! They don't have a website to even see if there is a form, etc. Is this a new technique by scammers to cover their back sides by saying they are calling Fred Flintstone because he filled out an online form with our phone number? I would really like to know if this type of spam calling is being done to others.

Good response! We basically pay to rent these numbers, and like a vehicle registration, the number we are assigned should be tied in much tighter to our accounts. The most important tie in should be the IMEI, or serial number, on our phone. If it doesn't match, it shouldn't be allowed to make a call. Most other posters are saying VOIP systems are being used to spoof and spam. Next question: Is it considered identity theft if someone is using your phone number as a callback on online forms? Say, insurance quote and mortgage-type sites? Someone is maliciously misusing a phone number (which they DO NOT pay for) to spam businesses as well as flood the victim's phone. For now, I'll be signing up for CallerNameID and Robokiller subscriptions.

As much as I use YouTube, I have noticed the same thing: There are tons of videos out there teaching how to hack someone's phone, plus how to spoof. Accepting advertising money for shady app/software developers is a new low though. Since I'm in California, and endlessly frustrated by hacking and spoofing personally affecting me, Google (and it's affiliates) completely ignore California privacy and identity protection laws that they are supposed to uphold. Take note of that, Verizon! Here's what the FCC says regarding the Caller ID spoofing law of 2009: Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value. Anyone who is illegally spoofing can face penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation. I understand many of these spoofers are located outside of the United States, and therefore difficult to catch and prosecute. But that's why I noted that neither government agency has an online reporting feature for victims of spoofing, especially revenge spoofing where a person's number is targeted to solicit sales quotes etc from legitimate businesses. As long as companies, like Google, don't enforce the laws they are required by their home state to uphold, companies like Verizon, etc will keep running in circles with their Caller ID software etc. It's like plugging one hole in a breaching dam with a thousand other holes.

vzw_customer_support​ Looks like you misread my scenario wrong. I changed the SIM card on Wednesday. At the Verizon store, the Amazon app located me in Alpine, CA which is 150 miles away. The sales rep tried justifying the error as Amazon showing the location of the nearest Amazon distribution center. If that was the case, I would have been seeing the one 35 miles from me, not 150. Today, while sitting in my favorite fast food parking lot, I was on their website and received an error that my GEO location could not be found. Also, I had to force a location update to find another retailer "near me." So, the SIM update is a failure. The sales reps at 2 Verizon stores say these see GPS errors. They all had good guesses, but can't give me the technical reason it happens. Except that it's more common on Samsung because they take forever delivering the latest Android OS updates. (^^ I didn't mean to upload the same image twice.) Looks like I'm stuck with this S8 for several months until I'm eligible for the upgrade. I'm still hoping someone can give me a more technical information as to why this happens and a solid fix to this problem.

Hypothetical situation: I get the new SIM card from the store today, and it seems to fix the problem. Then after awhile I get the atypical spam texts or phone calls and the GPS problem starts all over again. What will VZW do to resolve the problem? That's what happened back in August 2017. I'm just expecting a replay of the same situation.

vzw_customer_support​ I installed the Repair Utility and ran it. I also did a full factory reset with no restore...and it did nothing. The problem persists. Do I go to the nearest Verizon store for a replacement SIM card?

I haven't run the software yet. I re-enabled the My Verizon app on the phone...and I was auto-logged in again. I actually keep the app disabled for this reason. I was able to log out though. Anyway, I ran the system check in the app. When I turned off the wi-fi, it said I wasn't connected to the mobile data network. But I am! I can't correct it. I will run the software tomorrow morning, but I can't get my hopes up. The SIM card was replaced when I switched from an unlocked Motorola to the Samsung. I did not get a new SIM when the replacement S8 was mailed. Image removed because ISP's, IP, and longs/lats visible as required by Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Thank you for working with me on this issue. Yes, the accuracy is set to high. I checked that too. As far as the texts: 1) They are random, but always during the "app reinstall and updating" process...before the anti-virus apps are installed. I mean, every...single...time I have done a factory reset. I have done dozens of them. Some come from obvious spammers: cannabis spam, or they are numbers not in my address book asking how I am doing (i.e. social engineering). There is not always a hyperlink or image file. I do not reply. In fact, I block the numbers. It's only been in the past week that Signal has finally listened to customer input and intercepted texts from unknown numbers. It asks if I want to block, view and reply, or add to contacts. 2) I try to be quick during the app reinstall process, especially to disable the Verizon Messaging app. Signal will not activate until I re-authenticate my phone number. But that Samsung Messaging app...well...it's designed to not be disabled. 3) I disabled Verizon Messaging so that the text history is not available through my VZW on the web. I did that months ago. (Thank one of your customers for posting it on a support thread.) I get a lot of spoof number calls, and found out from a persistent woman that my number has been spoofed. I block every one of them afterward, and do not answer the ones with the same area code and first three digits similar to my own number. Basically, I am done doing factory resets on my phones. It is a lost battle on my part at this point. The last reset did nothing to fix the location services issue. Thanks to Samsung making it impossible to suspend receiving messages during the reinstall period, I will always get one during that time. To answer this question in advance: I NEVER download apps from anywhere other than the Play Store. I update and scan my phone using anti-virus/anti-malware. I have even run scans while in safe mode. This is only effective if a program is in database. That much I've learned from prior PC and phone experience. When I got this Samsung Galaxy S8, I was not informed that during activation I was auto-logged in to the My Verizon app. This should be a customer choice, not something done without customer knowledge or consent at the time of activation.

I understand that Tech Support is doing is their best to rule out any phone misuse on my part, but after more than a year of dealing with this on my end, I've researched every possible way to fix this myself. I have tried everything possible and do not neglect updates. The November 2017 update to fix the KRACK problem worked for an hour before a spoofing text was sent, and my location services were screwed up all over again.

Yes! I have done this step so many times I have lost count. That was one of the things the Samsung rep at Best Buy did when he witnessed my location services being out of whack and the CSR who authorized the return of the first Galaxy S8. Question: when I sent back that phone with a note and a disc containing screenshots of where my phone showed me to be with everything maximized, cleared, reset, etc, did anyone send the phone to the fraud or security department to be analyzed for a possible bug that is not in any existing databases? Other than changing my phone number...any other suggestions?

Yes, my due diligence is fine on my end: I do every Google Play app update the same day I get a notification. The problem with location services being wrong has been going on across 4 different phones I have had on the Verizon wireless network (2 Motorola smartphones and 2 Samsung Galaxy). It's been the worst on the Samsungs because even factory and network resets do not resolve the issue. May I remind Technical Support that Verizon's database was hacked in 2017 (yes, I did the PIN change as instructed) and that the Galaxy S8 was easily hacked during a 2017 Black Hat convention demonstration. I do EVERYTHING needed including the security updates Google sends monthly. So, this has been going on for over a year, and during this time only 1 customer service rep did not dismiss my problem as being something I am solely responsible for happening. I have anti-virus/malware installed. I use a Yubikey for 2FA authentication to my Google account. I use a SIM PIN in addition to the lock screen PIN. Really...what more should I be doing? Maybe it's time to look at who has access to my VZW account?

I have all of the settings as you recommended before you suggested them. I still have the same problem 2 months later. I have over 1,000 screenshots in sequence, including one from Google Maps, that I am either home or within 20 miles of home...but web based location finding of my IP goes out as far as New Jersey when I am in California. It is frustrating when store apps and websites, like Lowes and Home Depot, will not update my location even when I am inside of their stores with the wi-fi on. I am not using their store wifi but, like you said, the phone should be using the store's wifi IP to accurately locate me. But it doesn't. It will insist I am 150 miles away most times. I am still waiting for a rational explanation outside of replacing the entire phone...again.