T-Mobile Launches 'Scam Shield' to Protect Subscribers From Scam Calls and Robocalls

by

T-Mobile today unveiled its latest "Un-carrier" initiative, Scam Shield, which is designed to block robocalls and scam calls targeting T-Mobile, Metro, and Sprint customers.

tmobilescamshield
A free service, Scam Shield offers scam identification and blocking for every customer and provides more information about who's calling with enhanced Caller ID. T-Mobile is also offering a free second number so customers can keep their main numbers safe, plus free number changes and free ID monitoring.

T-Mobile competitors Verizon and AT&T have similar services, but charge for some features. Verizon, for example, has a free Call Filter service that IDs spam calls, but charges $2.99 per month for features like caller ID, blocking, and spam look up.

AT&T also has a free service for blocking fraud calls, but charges $3.99 per month for caller ID, reverse number lookup, custom call controls, and more. T-Mobile says that it is challenging other carriers to offer the same free services provided to T-Mobile customers.

tmobilescamshield2
"Today, I'm challenging the Carriers to get off their assets, stop profiting from fear and do the right thing, because everyone needs and deserves protection now, more than ever," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.

T-Mobile and Metro customers can activate scam blocking by dialing #662# on their smartphones as of today, with the Scam Shield app launching on July 24. Sprint customers will be able to download an upgraded Call Screener app from the App Store on July 24 to activate free scam ID and blocking along with caller ID.

Along with the new Scam Shield service, T-Mobile also announced that it will be combining operations with Sprint and unifying under the T-Mobile brand in retail stores nationwide.

Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Read Full Article • 148 comments
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Read Full Article
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
Read Full Article • 154 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Read Full Article • 37 comments
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
Read Full Article • 107 comments

Top Rated Comments

Unity451 Avatar
Unity451
73 months ago
I left the dumpster fire that is AT&T years ago for T-Mobile, and I've never regretted it for a moment.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boss.king Avatar
boss.king
73 months ago
American carriers are ridiculous. Imagine paying to be able to receive calls, and then also paying to block them. What a joke.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
nutmac
73 months ago
Only Caller ID is free. T-Mobile will sell reverse number lookup, blocking categories (e.g., political surveys), and managing block list at $3.99/line per month. Granted, caller ID is the most valuable feature of the lot, but let's not compare Caller ID to more feature packed paid add-on from AT&T and Verizon.

As for free proxy phone number, only 1 number is provided per plan, and only for customers on Essentials, Magenta, and Magenta Plus plans. Older customers will have to pay $9.99/month.

On a related note, it's a letdown that iOS 14 does not advance call blocking feature. iOS 13 identified STIR/SHAKEN verified numbers, but they cannot be filtered. "Silence Unknown Callers" feature should optionally allow verified numbers. Furthermore, nothing like Android's Call Screen feature.

Tried #662# from my iPhone 11 Pro. Got a Please Wait spinner for about 30 seconds then got an error message.
Try turning off Wi-Fi. It sometimes require cellular connection to enable/disable.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
oneMadRssn
73 months ago
I use the AT&T Call Protect app and can verify that it doesn't work at all and is completely and utterly worthless. It's powered by Hiya, so that is also totally ineffective.

It's actually kind of driving me crazy. I get a 3+ robo calls per day most days. I've actually considered porting my number to a VOIP such as Google Voice to be able to have an automated screening system, and using a data-enabled iPad Mini as my primary comm device instead of an iPhone.

This is an area where I think Apple should step up and try to find a solution. Getting too many spam calls with drive down iPhone sales, so they have a vested interest in this.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
centauratlas
73 months ago

I left the dumpster fire that is AT&T years ago for T-Mobile, and I've never regretted it for a moment.
I went the other way about 10-11 years ago when T-Mobile wanted me to change plans - to an identical plan that cost the same and had everything identical except "it was compatible with the iPhone". The catch was I was going to have to sign up for a 2 year contract - I was off contract because I'd been with them for more than a decade - for doing nothing except staying with T-Mobile. It was stupid and they tried the "if you do it now, we'll give you a $50 statement credit, but that is only good for this call." It was like I was buying a car.

Since Legere took over and turned things around and stopped stupid stuff like that, I've considered going back. Hopefully they continue well without him because I was happy with them until the above.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deeddawg Avatar
deeddawg
73 months ago

Pay us to protect you from the thing we should be protecting you from in the first place.
Pay? What do you mean? Free service per article.


what are the privacy implications of this? Does TMO get access to contacts? Does TMO log phone calls accepted, etc?
#1 - no - I'm guessing they leverage databases of known robo call sources.

#2 - All carriers have been logging phone calls accepted / declined / initiated for something like forever.

I was on a jury for a murder trial several years ago - part of the evidence was the cell phone company logs of the murderer's phone calls that afternoon. It included which tower his phone was making the call through, as well as which antenna on the tower - with the tower addresses and the antenna direction it was strong evidence of his (phone's) movements that day. ... and that was with a dumb flip-phone.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments