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Megafon is not the worst cellular carrier out there. But if Megafon screws up, it does so at a level that only leaves one question: “How do I stop screaming?!”

My job doesn’t give me the option to reject calls from unknown numbers. Of course, spam and fraud calls are usually more frequent than those I actually pick up my phone for. There are ways to address this problem, and today, for the first time, I chose the “official” way.

The FAS¹ website has a page on how to report spam. The page has links to procedures for each of the big cellular carriers. The one about Megafon links to the antifraud section of Megafon’s website. There they have a form to report spam calls, and that form I did fill out today after another robocall.

In less than a minute I had an email in my inbox.

I didn’t actually ask for any information about my phone number. In fact, I didn’t request any information about the spammer’s number either. I don’t care who or what they are, I only care that they stop calling me. But that’s not the point.

It’s 2022. I’m asked to email my passport data and my code word (knowing which one can do almost anything with my phone number). In an email. Without encryption. In plain text through the Internet.

And that’s not a one-man grocery shop next door asking me that. That’s a federal-scale telecom. The people that are — in theory! — supposed to have an idea how the Internet works and how email works. At least a vague one…

How do I stop screaming?!