Author Topic: US FCC requires implementation of STIR/SHAKEN protocol to combat Robo-calls  (Read 8036 times)

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Offline DrGTopic starter

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After just a few days, I am starting to see more unverified and, presumably, spoofed CID numbers. How to deal with these, apart from not answering, is the same old problem.

I took a look at some of the "spam blockers"; one of them says this:

Spam blocker will categorize and label nuisance calls into three categories based on level of risk. “High Risk” calls will be blocked, “Medium Risk” calls will be sent to voicemail, and “Low Risk” calls will ring through to your phone and show as “Spam?” on your Caller ID. You will have the ability to adjust these settings to meet your needs.

Given that there is no point in blocking a spoofed caller ID, it seems (I have a sneaky suspicion) like blocking based on adjustable rules is an unnecessary and ineffective approach. The whole STIR/SHAKEN protocol is to use a certificate based system to authenticate caller ID - no? This "spam blocking" approach appears to be ill-advised unless it is a tacit admission that the protocol is already a fail.
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Offline Marco

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Losing access to all foreign based helpdesks isn't an option, FCC should have made it mandatory for any US signalling number, but baby steps. A little patience required.
 

Offline Kasper

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I used to get spam from the same numbers over and over. I put them in contacts, made a group for them and gave the group a special ringtone.

Then I found koodo in Canada has some nice features. Callers who aren't in your list hear a number and have to enter it before they get through. Haven't had 1 spam call since I enabled that.
 
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Offline cdev

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I'm sure the Direct Marketing Industry will get their way and whatever the law says it does, it will have the exact opposite effect, as always.

The things the politicians most want to stop these days are whistleblowers of various kinds, not spammers or even robo callers. .
   I didn't read the article but let's just say that I'm skeptical.  The FCC has NEVER been involved in regulating the telecommunications industry in the US. Telecommunications in the US has always been regulated through state agencies and the (completely in-effective) USG's FTC. IF the FCC is allowed to make rules, then it will be a fundamental shift in the regulatory authority of the Telecommunications Industry in the US.

  The "spoofing" of phone numbers was originally allowed specifically so allow police in the US to make undercover phone calls without giving away the true origin of their phone calls. But since then the US phone companies have allowed anyone with money to do the same.

  Even if the FCC makes rules, how are they going to enforce that on companies making spoof calls from outside of the US?

The worst are calls pretending to be "Dealer Services" trying to get people to renew automobile extended warantees. Its annoying.

Whatever happeed to the opt out rule where people could opt out of all telemarketing. (without giving them all your info so they could target you.)
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Offline Kasper

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You know what's really annoying, I just got a new number for a business line and it gets way more junk calls than my old number that I've had for 15 - 20 years.  And I haven't given it to anyone yet!
 
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Offline TimFox

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That suggests that the spam callers are randomly dialing 7-digit numbers in search of prey.
Otherwise, could they have access to a database of newly-issued phone numbers?  I don't believe that is in the public domain.
Years ago, with a landline, I made a practice of never picking up before four complete rings.  With my current home cell phone, I find that the suspicious calls are predictably ringing for 3.5 ring cycles, hanging up before the fourth ring completes.
 

Offline Kasper

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That suggests that the spam callers are randomly dialing 7-digit numbers in search of prey.
Otherwise, could they have access to a database of newly-issued phone numbers?  I don't believe that is in the public domain.
Years ago, with a landline, I made a practice of never picking up before four complete rings.  With my current home cell phone, I find that the suspicious calls are predictably ringing for 3.5 ring cycles, hanging up before the fourth ring completes.

My guess is the number has been recycled. Whoever had it before me was not as protective of it as I have been with my personal number.

I wish suspicious calls hung up that early out here. For me they leave a voicemail, often blank, either way, I have to go into my voicemail to delete it.
 

Offline TimFox

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Being retired and having time on my hands, I would often call the "missed call" number (which was almost always spoofed) and get the telco announcement "The number you have called is not in service".  Very rarely, the actual phone number was actually in service for an innocent account holder, who was surprised to hear from me.  I found it amusing that the spoofed phone number is often not only in my 3-digit area code, but also in my 3-digit exchange, implying that the "Federal Reserve legal department" office or "Medicare benefits office" is in my neighborhood.
 

Offline Gary350z

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This will not help, according to the following video.
Video says this only applies to large phone companies (for two years), so the robocallers will just switch to small phone companies.
I don't know, just passing along information. :-//

Another Robocaller False Alarm!

 

Offline Bassman59

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I don't understand why the carriers seem reluctant to do something about this, it really makes their product a lot less appealing.

If you're of a certain age, you might remember the SNL sketch with Lily Tomlin playing an AT&T operator who tells the truth:

"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company."
 

Offline Bassman59

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I found it amusing that the spoofed phone number is often not only in my 3-digit area code, but also in my 3-digit exchange, implying that the "Federal Reserve legal department" office or "Medicare benefits office" is in my neighborhood.

Apparently, the Federal Reserve Legal Department calls people from cell phones!
 

Offline TimFox

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I don't understand why the carriers seem reluctant to do something about this, it really makes their product a lot less appealing.

If you're of a certain age, you might remember the SNL sketch with Lily Tomlin playing an AT&T operator who tells the truth:

"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company."

Those of us even older remember when Lily Tomlin started her character Ernestine the telephone company operator on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In" (1967 to 1973).  "And as a special favor, I'm enclosing our three-color brochure on phone etiquette. You might find it useful."
 

Offline james_s

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If you're of a certain age, you might remember the SNL sketch with Lily Tomlin playing an AT&T operator who tells the truth:

"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company."

But there isn't just one phone company anymore, there are loads of them to choose from. Used to be they really didn't have to care, they had a total monopoly. That isn't the case anymore.
 

Offline TimFox

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Technically, there were more telephone companies back then, but AT&T absolutely dominated the market before it was broken up.  In the 1967 film “The President’s Analyst” with James Coburn, the most insidious of the secret agencies is TPC (The Telephone Company), worse than the CEA and FBR.
 

Offline Marco

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Video says this only applies to large phone companies (for two years), so the robocallers will just switch to small phone companies.
It's in flux, there's a proposal to limit the exemption and exclude "small carriers" which don't have a couple huge (robocaller) customers to june next year.
 

Offline james_s

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Being retired and having time on my hands, I would often call the "missed call" number (which was almost always spoofed) and get the telco announcement "The number you have called is not in service".  Very rarely, the actual phone number was actually in service for an innocent account holder, who was surprised to hear from me.  I found it amusing that the spoofed phone number is often not only in my 3-digit area code, but also in my 3-digit exchange, implying that the "Federal Reserve legal department" office or "Medicare benefits office" is in my neighborhood.

I've heard more than once of people getting irate calls from strangers accusing them of calling them with scams. Unfortunately what has happened is the randomly generated number some scammer used happens to be the actual phone number of some poor sap who has no knowledge of their number being used for this.
 

Offline DrGTopic starter

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....
I don't know, just passing along information. :-//

Another Robocaller False Alarm!


I watched the video. I see no valuable new information. The links in the OP give the story in a much cleaner fashion. As has already been noted, it is a dynamic situation.

The approach of screaming; it is just a FALSE ALARM, it won't work and, they could fix it if they wanted to ....is not valuable information to me - it is simple venting. Did I miss the grand proposal revealed in that video? You know, the one that would fix the problem?
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Offline madires

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I've heard more than once of people getting irate calls from strangers accusing them of calling them with scams. Unfortunately what has happened is the randomly generated number some scammer used happens to be the actual phone number of some poor sap who has no knowledge of their number being used for this.

Happens also over here. Despite local regulations enforce correct caller IDs for call centers, telcos don't check the IDs of calls originated in other countries. A while ago some Indian call enter tried to scam me and they have set their caller ID to a different German number each time they called. AFAIK, it would easy for telcos to overwrite the fake caller ID with the correct line number as they receive also the line number from the originating telco for billing reasons. For a legitimate custom caller ID, like a local toll-free number for a call center outside the country, they could implement some registration process to allow the custom ID.
 

Offline NiHaoMike

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A while ago some Indian call enter tried to scam me and they have set their caller ID to a different German number each time they called.
If it's a real caller, just put the phone up to the smoke alarm and press the button. Or better yet, perhaps someone can figure out what bit sequence decodes to the loudest possible sound and write an app to blast the scammers?
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Offline madires

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If it's a real caller, just put the phone up to the smoke alarm and press the button. Or better yet, perhaps someone can figure out what bit sequence decodes to the loudest possible sound and write an app to blast the scammers?

When I took their first call I cursed them in Hindi. ;D   hint: search for "bad words in Hindi"

The idea with the loud sound might work also. But I would implement it in my VoIP PBX.
 
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