Get a recycled phone number's spam for a previous owner sorted with Meta's Muse, which bot-blocked support kept stopping (failure)
- Posted
- by Amanda Smith (CNET)
- Last checked
- Method:
- How we verify
Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.
FailureThe source says the agent did not get the job done.
What went wrong: Bot blocking stopped Muse at the carrier and the data broker form; the problem wasn't fixed at the time of writing.
Outcome
Amanda Smith pays $25 a month for a Visible plan and gets a lot of spam calls and texts asking for someone called Andrew, probably the number's previous owner. Visible has no phone line, so Smith asked Muse to check they were formally listed as the number's owner and to find where the number was linked to Andrew. Within seconds it found the number on a data broker page. But Visible blocks bots, and its guest chat wouldn't send Muse's message, then blocked it; taking over the browser led to a 403 error. Muse drafted a message for Smith to paste into the Visible app, and advised requesting removal from WhitePages and FastBackgroundCheck, though the WhitePages form wouldn't let Smith click Next. Visible's advanced support was still pending. Smith found Muse acted more like a chatbot giving instructions, though testing it made Smith finally deal with the task.
Agent
Prompt Original prompt
Exact prompt as published in the source.
I am a Visible customer on the $25 per month plan. I often get calls and texts looking for someone called Andrew. I think he was the previous owner of my number. It’s not a coincidence, because every time someone reaches out, they always ask for Andrew. I’ve contacted Visible before, and it said I own the number, but can you check I’m formally listed as the number owner? Check government websites, etc.
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Optional stronger version
Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points. Goal: Stop calls and texts meant for my number's previous owner, without changing my number. What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing): - My carrier and plan: [DETAILS] - What the calls and texts say and how often: [DETAILS] - What support has told me before: [DETAILS] Rules: - Search for public listings that tie my number to someone else, and list each with a link. - Give me the carrier's own options for recycled numbers and spam blocking, from its official help pages. - Draft the exact message to send to support, and the removal requests for each data broker. - If a site blocks you, stop and tell me what to do myself, rather than retrying. - If a site asks me to sign in, pause and let me do it myself (including any CAPTCHA or two-step code); never guess or store passwords. - Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - Remind me to report each wrong-person text as junk so the carrier's filters learn. Output: A list of listings to remove, ready-to-send messages, and the phone settings to change. You'll know it worked when: the wrong-person calls and texts stop, and my number is no longer listed under another name. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
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Your prompt
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points. Goal: Stop calls and texts meant for my number's previous owner, without changing my number. What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing): - My carrier and plan: [DETAILS] - What the calls and texts say and how often: [DETAILS] - What support has told me before: [DETAILS] Rules: - Search for public listings that tie my number to someone else, and list each with a link. - Give me the carrier's own options for recycled numbers and spam blocking, from its official help pages. - Draft the exact message to send to support, and the removal requests for each data broker. - If a site blocks you, stop and tell me what to do myself, rather than retrying. - If a site asks me to sign in, pause and let me do it myself (including any CAPTCHA or two-step code); never guess or store passwords. - Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - Remind me to report each wrong-person text as junk so the carrier's filters learn. Output: A list of listings to remove, ready-to-send messages, and the phone settings to change. You'll know it worked when: the wrong-person calls and texts stop, and my number is no longer listed under another name. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
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Source
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/meta-muse-contact-phone-provider-ai-agent-blocked/
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