The Direct Marketing Association has launched a new app to help the public avoid unwanted telephone calls. The app, called TPS Protect and free to download to Apple and Android phones, will also allow users to register their mobile phone numbers with the Telephone Preference Service and register complaints about nuisance phone calls. The data provided by the app users will then be used to provide a "trust score" for each phone number complained about, which will be available for other app users to see. This trust score will see numbers rated from one to five, with five being the most trustworthy.
Users will be able to use the app to decide at what level to set their own personal trust score, with any numbers below that score blocked. For example, if a user sets their personal trust score at three, it will block all phone numbers with a trust score below that level. Most call centre numbers will be rated between three and five on the trust score, according to the DMA.
App users can also create personal lists of blocked and approved phone numbers, and divert unwanted calls to voicemail, for 99p a month. Users will be able to highlight any types of organisation – such as charities – from which they always want to receive calls. John Mitchison, head of preference services, compliance and legal at the DMA, said: "When it comes to scam and nuisance callers, don't fight a lone battle. Stand up. Join the growing movement of people fighting back. "TPS Protect is an app for your phone that rates incoming calls using information from consumers. Each rating helps callers to decide how trusted an unfamiliar call could be, from scammers with criminal intentions to someone you can trust. When scam calls get reported, their trust score drops. So your voice matters."
Go to https://https://tpsprotect.org.uk/ for further details.