Verizon announced yesterday that it will begin offering a new “call filter” app that will help users “break up” with robocallers.
The service, which will include a free version as well as a premium version that will cost $2.99 per month, will display the name, phone number, city, and state of a caller, as well as a picture that has been uploaded by the caller, if the customer is using an Android or Blackberry device (users using iPhones will not be able to see the picture).
Users will also be able to label calls as spam, and be able to set up their own spam filters to keep certain calls from ever being connected. Users will also be able to use a reverse number search to look up phone numbers to see who is calling.
The service is expected to be made available to Verizon Wireless subscribers starting next month.
Other carriers have launched similar products to help keep robocalls from being connected. The problem, for the credit and collection industry as well as other legitimate businesses, is that sometimes, legitimate calls are not connected because they are deemed to be robocalls, and users sometimes label legitimate calls as spam because they don’t want to be contacted by a debt collector anymore. The process for having a phone number that is marked as spam removed from a blocked list is not simple and varies from carrier to carrier. And even if a number is removed from the blocked list, it can easily be added back if more users label the calls as spam.
