The program is trying to identify spam calls. So it is listen to the FRITZ!Box call monitor and does several wash cycles to figure out whether it is spam or not.
Please remember to update the master data regularly so that the program works correctly!
If you already use an older version please refer to the update section and be aware that the structure of the configuration file differ (see config.example.php).
- the program only works in the German telephone network!
- you use a Fritz!Box for landline telephoning
- you need to have a separate spam phone book beside your phone book!
- you have a microcomputer (e.g. Raspberry Pi) running 24/7 in your network
For an incoming call a cascaded check takes place:
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First, it is checked, whether the number is already known in your telephone books (
'whitelist') and ('blacklist') or ('newlist'). This also includes central numbers used, whose various extensions are defined with '*' in the phone book. Of course, all these known telephone numbers are not analyzed any further. -
If unknown, it is checked if it is a foreign number. If you have set (
'blockForeign') the number will be direct transferred to the corresponding phone book ('blacklist') for future rejections. If not, then foreign numbers are- screened to see whether they exceed or fall short of the expected lengths,
- whether they transmit country codes that are not (or no longer) used or
- if area code starts with invalid "0" (zero).
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The following screenings are carried out for domestic numbers, which are essentially aimed at "CLIP - no screening":
- transmission of a unvalid area code ONB or cellular code
- unvalid subscribers number, if a landline number starts with an zero
- concealment of a mobile phone number using a prefix consisting of your own area code and country code,
- transmission of the actual phone number in brackets after a user provided number and
- falling below or exceeding expected lengths.
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If all this passed, it is checked at various scoring sites (currently five: WERRUFT, Clever Dialer, Telefonspion, WerHatAngerufen and tellows), if this number has received a bad online rating. If this is the case, the number - also as with pattern errors - is included in the blacklist.
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Finally, of course, there is the possibility that the caller is known in a positive sense and can be identified via a public telephone book (Das Örtliche). Then he/she/it is optionally entered in a dedicated phone book (
'newlist') with the determined name. This feature is also used for outgoing calls to unknown numbers! -
In addition, the program offers the option of being informed about unknown incoming (and outgoing) phone numbers by email. In particular, the information on the extent to which the caller could be identified and possibly added to one of the telephone books is convinient without having to be able to trace this using the caller list in the FRITZ!Box or in the logging file.
- PHP >= 7.3 (php-cli, php-curl, php-mbstring, php-soap, php-xml)
- call monitor (port 1012) is open - if not: dial
#96*5*to open it - Composer (follow the installation guide)
Install requirements are:
git clone https://github.com/blacksenator/fbcallrouter.git
cd fbcallrouterInstall composer (see https://getcomposer.org/download/ for newer instructions):
composer install --no-devEdit the config.example.php and save as config.php or use an other name of your choice (but than keep in mind to use the -c option to define your renamed file)
If you do not have your own phone book for spam numbers, it is essential to add a new one (e.g. "Spamnummern"). Note that the first phone book ("Telefonbuch") has the index "0" and the numbers are ascending according to the index tabs. Then you have to link this phone book for call handling.
If you want to add previously unknown but trustworthy umbers as contacts, you can do this optionally: e.g. in a separate phone book that you have created in the FRITZ!Box. However, you can also have these additions added to your standard telephone book..
The programm accessed the Fritz!Box via TR-064. Make sure that the user you choose in configuration (see next topic) is granted for this interface. The user needs authorization for "voice messages, fax messages, FRITZ!App Fon and the call list"!
The configuration file (default config.php) offers various customization options. For example: Adapted to the tellows rating model a bad score is determined as six to nine and needs at least more than three comments. The second parameter is for quality purposes: not a single opinion should block a service provider whose call you might expect.
You can adapt the values in the configuration file. But be carefull! If you choose score values equal or smaler then five (5), than numbers with impeccable reputation where written to your rejection list!
Because the rating websites use different scales, they are normalized to the tellows scale.
If you set 'log' in your configuration and the 'logPath' is valid, the essential process steps for verification are written to the log file callrouter_logging.txt. If 'logPath' is empty the programm directory is default.
As mentioned, the program is designed to run permanently in the background. In order to ensure this, it is necessary to make sure that this is possible without interruption and should be tested accordingly.
It is highly recommended test the setting by following the next steps:
php fbcallrouter runIf On guard... appears, the program is armed.
Make a function test in which you call your landline from your cell phone: your mobile phone number should not end up in the spam phone book!
If the number is in your phone book, nothing should happen anyway (on whitelist).
Otherwise: your mobile phone number is not a foreign number, the ONB/RNB is correct and you certainly do not have a bad entry in online directories. Therefore these tests should not lead to any sorting out.
Press CTRL+C to terminate the programm.
If logging is enabled (which is highly recommended for this test), than nano callrouter_logging.txt will show you what happend at the call monitor interface.
There are five exemplary 'numbers' stored in the configuration file with which you can test the wash cycles integratively. You can change these test numbers according to your own ideas and quantity. Starting the programm with the -t option, these numbers will be injected as substitutes one after the other for the next calls the FRITZ!Box receives and its call monitor port will broadcast.
It is highly recommended to proceed like this:
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check if none of the substitutes are already in your phone book! Especially if you repeat the test!
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if you want to a web query, make crosscheck at the named providers that the choosen test phone number(s) actually has/ve the desired score and comments!
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start the programm
php fbcallrouter run -t -
use your cellular phone to call your landline. The incoming mobil number will be replaced with the first/next number from this array and passes through the inspection process. Additional information is output like this:
Starting FRITZ!Box call router... On guard... Running test case 1/5
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let it ring at least twice before hanging up. Repeat calling from your cellular your landline number. So you have to call as many times as there are numbers in the array to check all test cases (or quit programm execution with
CTRL+C). The program then ends this number replacement. -
check the blacklist phone book whether all numbers have been entered as expected. If logging is enabled, than
nano callrouter_logging.txtwill show you what happend. If e-mail notification is choosen check your inbox. To cancel, pressCTRL+C.
The main concept of this tool is to continuously check incoming calls. Therefore it should ideally run permanently as a background process on a single-board computer (e.g. Raspberry Pi) in the home network. A corresponding definition file is prepared: fbcallrouter.service
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edit
[youruser]in this file with your device user (e.g.pi) and save the filenano fbcallrouter.service -
copy the file into
/etc/systemd/systemsudo cp fbcallrouter.service /etc/systemd/system/fbcallrouter.service -
enable the service unit:
sudo systemctl enable fbcallrouter.service -
check the status:
sudo systemctl status fbcallrouter.service
As noted at the beginning, functional enhancements usually go hand in hand with additions to the configuration file. To install the current version, please proceed as follows:
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change to the installation directory:
cd /home/[youruser]/fbcallrouter -
stop the service:
sudo systemctl stop fbcallrouter.service -
delete the old logging file (if you used it here):
rm callrouter_logging.txt -
get the latest version from:
git pull https://github.com/blacksenator/fbcallrouter.git -
bring all used libraries up to date:
composer update --no-dev -
check for changes in the configuration file...
nano config.example.php -
...and eventually make necessary changes/additions in your configuration:
nano config.example.php -
restart the service...
sudo systemctl start fbcallrouter.service -
...and wait few seconds before you check if the service is running:
sudo systemctl status fbcallrouter.service
ONB = OrtsNetzBereiche (Vorwahlbereiche/Vorwahlen). The list used comes from the BNetzA and should be valid for a limited period of time. If you want to update them, then download the offered CSV file Vorwahlverzeichnis. Unpack the archive and save the file as ONB.csv in the ./assets directory.
RNB = numbers for mobile services. The BNetzA do not provide a list for download with cellular codes (RNB). The currently used ones were transferred to the ./assets directory as $cellularNumber in cellular.php.
The currently used ones were transferred to the ./assets directory as $countryCode in countrycode.php. The list was mainly compiled from information from wikipedia.
First of all: of course the program can contain bugs and not work as expected. If you are convinced, please open an issue here.
In addition, it can of course be more due to the selected settings for the configuration of the filter.
Last but not least I myself have made some observations that led me to suspect that the program would not work correctly. In principle, it is advisable in such cases to switch on logging ('log' => true,) or to compare the active logging with the call list of the FRITZ!Box. You may need to go a step further and correlate dates with reverse search sites.
An example: I had calls that should have been identified as spam at first glance through web research. A closer look showed that this spammer only appeared in the lists at exactly that time and had not yet received a sufficient number of negative comments at the time of the call.
No private data from this software will be passed on to third parties accepts with this exception: when using
the incoming number is transmitted to the provider. Their data protection information must be observed!
If you enjoy this software, then I would be happy to receive your feedback, also in the form of user comments and descriptions of your experiences, e.g. in the IP Phone Forum. This puts the user community on a broader basis and their experiences and functional ideas can be incorporated into further development. In the end, these features will benefit everyone.
As ever, this program started with only a few lines of code just to play with the call monitor interface provided and to figure out how it works...
...than more and more ideas came to my mind how this interface could solve some of my needs.
As I have already written in the fritzsoap documentation, it would be an enormous relief if AVM would provide functionality to terminate incoming calls, just as FRITZ!OS itself does it with the handling of phone numbers to be blocked. The entry of more and more numbers in corresponding blacklists could be omitted or reduced.
FRITZ!Box, FRITZ!fon, FRITZ!OS are trademarks of AVM. This software is in no way affiliated with AVM and only uses the interfaces published by them.
This script is released under MIT license.
Copyright© 2019 - 2024 Volker Püschel