Scam ID and Scam Block will be available to MetroPCS customers

Shortly after rolling out advanced scam protection to T-Mobile customers last spring, the Un-carrier today announced that both Scam ID and Scam Block will be available to MetroPCS customers starting tomorrow, July 25^th—at no extra cost. And Scam ID and Scam Block will work on every single MetroPCS device because these advanced, patent-pending technologies are built directly into T-Mobile’s nationwide network.

Since T-Mobile launched Scam ID and Scam Block in April 2017, the Un-carrier has already identified and flagged or blocked over 243 million calls for customers. And though scammers succeed with only 0.2 percent of all calls, a successful scam can cost victims an average of $274 per person according to a study from Truecaller. The Un-carrier estimates Scam ID and Scam Block have already saved T-Mobile customers over $130 million in potential losses.

Though the technology behind Scam ID and Scam Block is advanced, the experience couldn’t be simpler for customers. With Scam ID, when an incoming call is identified by the network as a possible scam, your phone displays a “Scam Likely” alert along with the phone number. You can then choose to accept or decline the call. And, if you prefer never to be bothered by likely scam calls, you can simply turn on Scam Block, and MetroPCS will terminate the call before it ever reaches you.

Since rolling out Scam ID and Scam Block for T-Mobile customers, the Un-carrier has learned a lot about scammers’ habits and behavior.

• Scammers enjoy a regular work week. Most scam calls are made during business hours, 8am ET to 5 pm PT, Monday through Friday.
• Weekdays during late afternoon are the peak busy time for scammers – up to 500,000 calls per hour are identified.
• Scammers take the weekends easy and make about half as many calls.
• Scammers like to keep it fresh. Most scam calls come from one time use numbers. Of over 500,000 uniquely identified scammer phone numbers, only around 24,000 numbers repeatedly make scam calls.

Starting July 25, Scam ID will be automatically enabled for all MetroPCS customers. To turn on Scam Block, customers can dial #ONB# (#662#) or, to turn it off, dial #OFB# (#632#). To check whether Scam Block is on or off, customers can dial #STS# (#787#).

T-Mobile and MetroPCS are part of an industry-wide effort to fight robocalling, led by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit V. Pai. Scam ID and Scam Block stop robocalls for T-Mobile and MetroPCS customers in their most insidious form— phone scams.