PrivacyStar iPhone App Now Automatically Blocks Unwanted Calls

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First Orion's PrivacyStar™ app is available today for iPhone users to identify and block unwanted nuisance calls.

Download the PrivacyStar app here.

The new PrivacyStar app for iPhone gives users more control over their phone calls and provides three levels of protection, including:

• Basic - Blocks All identified Scam related calls
• Enhanced - Blocks All identified Scam, Telemarketing and Debt Collection related calls
• Maximum - Blocks All identified Scam, Telemarketing and Debt Collection related Calls as well as Political, Market Research and other unwanted or nuisance related calls

With the introduction of iOS 10 and the CallKit API feature, First Orion enables iPhone users to protect themselves and preserve their privacy with the all new PrivacyStar application for iPhone. This service has previously only been available to Android users until this iOS update.

PrivacyStar provides a proprietary unique scoring system for every phone number, known as a "Spam Score." The higher the score for a specific calling phone number the more likely it is that a call from that number should be avoided and blocked. A Spam Score ranges from 0 – 5, with a score of "0" generally meaning that First Orion has not identified any specific nuisance or fraudulent behaviors with that number and a score of "5" meaning that First Orion has identified Scam or Fraudulent behavior from that calling number. Scores ranging from 1 – 4 will indicate the relative nuisance level associated with a particular incoming caller.

PrivacyStar updates its proprietary scores in real time and the application within minutes as those scores are available. This feature ultimately warns users of the likelihood of the call being fraudulent, allowing iPhone users to set their personal settings to control whether or not numbers with a certain Spam Score are allowed through or automatically blocked.

U.S. consumers are harassed by over 30 million spam calls a day and First Orion will now give iPhone users the ability to block unwanted calls, and even file a complaint directly with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In fact, First Orion's PrivacyStar is the leading source of call complaint data to the FTC and in 2015 its users filed 31% of all call complaints, according to the recent FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Report.

First Orion recognizes consumers are harassed and often victimized on their cell phones. Recently, First Orion conducted a survey on American's mobile usage and found that over 4 percent of those surveyed gave away credit card information to a scammer amounting to an average of over 15 million Americans, doubling the number from last year. While only 1 percent gave up social security numbers in 2015, 2.4 percent did this year, which suggests that nearly 10 million mobile subscribers in the US will provide their social security number to a scam caller this year.

"Unlike other applications, we don't upload your contacts to harvest personal information nor do we require that you forward us all of your phone calls," said Rob Sewell, VP of Products and Services at First Orion. "With the PrivacyStar app, we just protect you, with up to the minute scoring to ensure you know who's calling and giving you the right information to know who to block."

PrivacyStar Features
Free Version – ALL features are available during the 7-day trial period; features available after the 7-day trial has expired:

• Automatically Blocks all identified Scam or fraud related calls
• Known Nuisance Callers will be identified by Caller ID Type (e.g., Telemarketers)
• File a complaint against any number that will be submitted to the FTC

PRO Version – all FREE features plus:

• Block any phone number
• Caller ID Name displayed for known or suspected nuisance calls (e.g., "Acme" Telemarketing)
• Unlimited Reverse Number Lookup for any phone number providing additional details
• Add Phone Numbers to an Approved List so they will never be blocked
• Automatically Block Known Robocallers
• Automatically Block Calls from Reported Nuisance Callers (e.g., Telemarketers, Robocallers, Political Calls, Surveys, etc.)
• Customize Protection Settings to create a custom blocking profile by selecting any combination of call types

Pricing and Availability
PrivacyStar is available as a FREE download in the Apple App Store and comes with a 7-day trial of the PRO service. PrivacyStar also offers the PRO Version with additional features available at $0.99 per month. Customers who elect not to subscribe to the PRO version may continue to use the Free service once the trial is completed. PrivacyStar for iPhone will also be released in the United Kingdom later this year.

About PrivacyStar
The PrivacyStar solution includes ScamBlock, Caller ID & CallerYD™ with Robocall Detection, real-time caller ID and call blocking as well the ability to report abusive calls and texts directly to federal agencies. PrivacyStar is available as a free download for Android smartphones and iPhones and powers call management solutions for many leading mobile carriers. Each month, PrivacyStar blocks millions of calls and its users file hundreds of thousands of call complaints on behalf of customers directly with the Federal Trade Commission for Do Not Call, Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and TCPA (Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act) violations. PrivacyStar is a First Orion company.

About First Orion
First Orion is dedicated to providing phone call transparency by empowering both consumers and businesses with world-class data. The company helps businesses utilize authoritative data to ensure that they are properly contacting the right customers or validating their customer data with accurate information. First Orion is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas with offices in Dallas, Seattle and London.

For regular updates, please visit www.FirstOrion.com.

PrivacyStar and First Orion are registered trademarks of First Orion Corp. All registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Mishelle Fiebiger
FortyThree, Inc.
831.401.3175
[email protected]

SOURCE PrivacyStar