Our free Scam Shield ™ app, formerly Name ID, gives you control over T-Mobile’s anti-scam protections like Scam ID, Scam Block, and Caller ID, and is available to all our customers.
What is the T-Mobile Scam Shield app?
- Scam Shield app does not require an add-on feature to work and is available for Android & iOS phone users.
- Free and included with the T-Mobile Scam Shield app only:
- View Caller ID Name.
- Caller ID opt-in.
- Turn on Scam Block.
- Report telemarketer, fraud and scam calls.
- Scam block and Scam likely enabled
- Report unwanted or misidentified calls
- Mark favorites
- Turn on Scam Shield Premium feature – Android only. (Subscription fee charged) iOS subscription available via web or T-Mobile app.
What you need to use it
- T-Mobile Scam Shield app is available for Android Kit Kat (5.0) OS or higher and iOS 10 or higher phones.
- A T-Mobile account.
- You can start a free trial of the Scam Shield service.
- At the end of the trial, you'll receive an option to purchase a subscription to the service. If you agree, you get the full service and will be billed each month for it.
How to use the app
See how the Scam Shield app works with a simulator for Apple iOS and Android devices.
- If you use a VPN or VPN app, turn it off while you get set up.
- Tap the Scam Shield icon.
- Tap the Settings icon in the bottom-right of the screen.
- From here, you can manage and view the following settings:
- Software version: Scroll down to the bottom to view current version.
- My Account: Account type
- Category Manager
- Set what happens 'When blocking calls', such as sending the call to voicemail.
- Caller category voicemail filter
- Learn more
- Set what happens 'When blocking calls', such as sending the call to voicemail.
- Caller ID Preferences
- View your outbound Caller ID profile
- Incoming Caller ID status
- Notifications
- Turn off or turn on notifications for:
- A Scam likely call is blocked
- A caller is blocked
- A call category is sent to voicemail
- Turn off or turn on notifications for:
- Support: Report app or account issues
If you have a Dual SIM with eSIM device, like the iPhone Xs, you can only block/unblock numbers on the line that was active when you installed the Scam Shield app. Favorites feature comes included with the free Scam Shield. To manage call categories and blocked numbers, upgrade to the Scam Shield Premium services.
- Tap the Scam Shield icon > Activity to open the call log screen. A list of callers appears.
- Tap the name of a contact to block. If some contacts are already blocked, they are on the block list.
- Tap Manage > Block to change the callers access.
Search callers
You’ll be able to search through your call log with the included free Scam Shield access. To use Reverse number lookup, upgrade to the Scam Shield Premium services.
- Tap the Scam Shield icon > Activity to open the call log screen. A list of callers appears. If a list of callers if not present, click the Menu icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen and then tap All incoming calls.
- Start typing a name or number to search your call logs.
- To search for a number that is not in your call logs, tap Reverse number lookup search bar at the top of the screen. If the owner of the number is known, it will be displayed.
Subscribe
To subscribe outside of the trial period, download or access the Scam Shield app and follow the prompts to subscribe. If unable to subscribe, turn off Wi-Fi and check the network connection. iOS devices can not subscribe/unsubscribe in the Scam Shield app.
To subscribe during the trial:
- Turn on the new T-Mobile device and connect to the network to start the trial.
- Verify that notifications appear in the notification bar about Scam Shield.
- Click More Info.
- Perform one of the following:
- View the time remaining on the trial.
- Click Opt Out to leave the trial early.
- Click Subscribe to sign up for Scam Shield for a monthly charge. If you're not able to subscribe, turn off Wi-Fi and check network connection.
To unsubscribe:
- Tap the Scam Shield icon to open the app.
- Tap the Settings icon.
- Tap My Account.
- Tap Unsubscribe from Scam Shield.
- Tap the Scam Shield icon > Activity to open the call log screen. A list of callers appears.
- Tap the name of a contact to view the following caller details (some caller have more details if they have a WhitePages profile, like a business):
- Name
- Phone Number
- City and State
- Options to Favorite, Block caller, or Send to VM
- Report caller – allows you to report the caller as spam.
- Spam likely indicator
If you're running into trouble with the app, check out our troubleshooting tips.