Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 23 august 2019

In this Aug. 11, 2019, file photo, a man uses a cell phone in New
Orleans. Major phone companies are telling the country’s state
attorneys general that they will do more against robocalls. Major
carriers, state
Associated Press
Major carriers,state

AGs will work to In this March 25, 2019, file photo, Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, speaks about the
Apple Card at the Steve Jobs Theater during an event to announce new products in Cupertino,
Calif.
Associated Press
combat robocalls Apple wants people to know

By TALI ARBEL
NEW YORK (AP) — Major phone companies have pledged how to clean its new credit card
AP Technology Writer

to do more to fight robocalls plaguing Americans, the
country’s state attorneys general say. By MICHAEL LIEDTKE ear buds and all other physical products.
It’s the latest step from government and industry to com- AP Technology Writer But while it’s common for people to clean
bat the growing problem . Americans get nearly 5 billion SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple believes those devices, few consumers spend time
automated calls from scammers, telemarketers, debt col- some of its zealous customers will treasure sprucing up their credits cards.
lectors and others every month. Parts of the agreement its new titanium credit card so much that Apple describes a two-step cleaning pro-
echo steps already taken by regulators and Congress, they will spend time polishing its white fin- cess involving microfiber cloths and isopro-
which is working on anti-robocall bills . ish. pyl alcohol and includes a list of inappro-
There’s no timeline, though, for the 12 major phone com- That’s why Apple has posted instructions priate cleaners. The instructions also warn
panies in the pact to fulfill the promises announced Thurs- on how to clean the card properly and against touching another credit card or
day by attorneys general from all 50 states and the Dis- warned that some materials might leave “potentially abrasive objects” like coins or
trict of Columbia. blemishes that are difficult to remove. keys.
According to the agreement, the companies will offer The list of potential hazards includes leath- The Apple Card, announced in March in
call-blocking tools for free to customers, with the excep- er and denim, prompting some people to partnership with Goldman Sachs, started
tion of those who still use old copper landline phones conclude Apple’s credit card is so special rolling out in the U.S. this month. Though in-
(where it’s more difficult from a technical standpoint). that it can’t be stored in the wallets and dustry experts say the card’s financial ben-
Many of the major companies already offer this, although pockets where most other credit cards re- efits mirror many of those already out there
some charge for some or all of the services. side. for consumers, Apple is positioning it as a
The companies will also block calls for everyone at the But the company says it merely wants peo- refreshing change from the thousands of
network level, landlines included. ple to know that the dyes used in some other credit cards that have been avail-
The Federal Communications Commission has called on types of leather and denim can leave able for decades.
phone companies to block unwanted calls and expects stains. Those discoloring marks are unlikely In one of the biggest differences, the
carriers not to charge. in most kinds of wallets and jeans, some- card is designed to be primarily used with
The agreement also asks the carriers to deploy a system thing Apple alluded to in its post by advis- the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple
that can label caller ID numbers as real. Scammers often ing that the card can be kept in a wallet Watch. But at retail stores, that requires
use faked numbers to get people to pick up. The FCC al- or pocket made of “soft materials.” merchants to accept Apple Pay. Apple
ready has asked for such a system, and companies have The reverence Apple seemed to be ac- and Goldman Sachs are giving people
started rolling it out. cording its card triggered widespread the option of a physical card to use when
The state AGs also asks the companies to “dedicate suf- derision on Twitter and elsewhere on the Apple Pay isn’t an option.
ficient resources” to quickly figure out where illegal robo- internet. The card is made of titanium and a sleek
calls are coming from when asked by law enforcement “Do not look directly at Apple Card,” Alex white finish to give it added flair and pres-
or by an existing industry group that is dedicated to trac- Stamos, a former top security executive at tige. It’s a strategy that has worked well for
ing the origin of scam calls. Yahoo and Facebook, mocked in a tweet other high-end cards made of metallic al-
The telecom companies involved are AT&T, Bandwidth, late Wednesday . “Do not speak to Apple loys, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve
CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated Commu- Card. Do not denigrate Apple Card in Its Card .
nications, Frontier, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Holy Presence.” As part of its effort to keep its new credit
and Windstream. Not included are Altice and Cox, cable In reality, Apple’s cleaning instructions for card customers happy, Apple is offering to
companies with millions of customers, as well as many the card mirrors the same practice it ap- replace any card that loses its sheen, at
small rural telecoms.q plies for its iPhone, iPad, Mac computers, no extra charge.q