Your iPhone could soon warn you if you're about to receive a spam call.
Apple has patented technology that would automatically recognize a 'spoofing caller' and serve up a warning on users' iPhone screens.
It comes as Google this week launched a new Call Screen feature to arrive with its latest handset, the Pixel 3, which can answer and prevent spam calls for you.
The patent, which is titled 'Detection of spoofed call information,' was filed in April 2015, but was made public on Thursday.
Apple describes creating a system where the phone performs checks on a call to determine whether it is legitimate, or if it's from a spoofed number.
'An example of a spoofed message is one in which a person with bad intentions, a "spoofing caller," or a machine under control of the spoofing caller, pushes forward a financial scam by inserting a caller ID value in the message that the called party will trust,' the patent explains, citing how scammers use numbers associated with law enforcement, family members or electric companies as an example.
'In some embodiments, a mobile device is configured to detect that a message inviting a call initiation is a spoofed message.'
The system would look for information like network equipment identifiers, server identifiers as well as routing data.
It would then issue a warning or, perhaps, block the call entirely.
'[If the] message is spoofed or the likelihood that the message is spoofed is substantial, then a warning is provided to the called party,' the patent states.
The patent describes how the system also gives the user the option to take the call even if they've received a warning that it's from a spoofed number.
Apple patents many ideas that never come to fruition, so it's unclear if this will ever see the light of day.
However, Apple is behind Google when it comes to preventing spoof calls.
Google on Tuesday debuted a new Call Screen feature that uses Google Assistant to block spam calls.
Users activate a feature as the call comes in, and Google will transcribe it live on screen.
The phone will alert the caller that the device owner is using a transcribing service, then it will request that they state their name and reason for calling.
This gives the device owner a chance to decide whether or not they want to take the call, avoiding scammers in the process.
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