Stir/Shaken
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https://www.cnet.com/news/robocalls-are-out-of-control-that-could-change-after-june-30/
A big deadline in the fight to beat back those annoying robocalls is coming June 30. As of that date, every major voice provider in the US, including phone companies AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and cable provider Comcast, will have to implement a technology called Stir/Shaken.
That's good news for everyone whose phone has been jangling with bogus phone calls involving health-related scams, expiring car warranties and fake banks offering nonexistent interest-rate discounts for credit cards. For years, the scourge of illegal robocalls has plagued the public. It's the No. 1 consumer complaint and a top priority at the Federal Communications Commission.
US consumers have received just under 22 billion robocalls in the first five months of the year, on pace to hit over 52 billion robocalls for the year, according to YouMail, a company specializing in blocking robocalls.
"Stir" stands for "secure telephone identity revisited," and "Shaken" for "signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens." Stir is the technical protocol, and Shaken is the framework by which calls can be tracked in the new robocall mitigation database.
The way it works is that Stir/Shaken technology ensures that calls traveling through phone networks have their caller ID "signed" as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before the calls reach you. In short, the technology authenticates a phone call's origin and makes certain the information on the Caller ID matches.
What's 'caller ID spoofing'?
Spoofing is when callers disguise their identity by deliberately falsifying the information transmitted to your caller ID display. Scammers do this to make calls less easily traceable. Also, by using so-called neighbor spoofing, which makes it appear as though the number is a local one you may already know or trust, scammers try to trick you into picking up a call.
Is spoofing illegal?
Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, the FCC's rules prohibit any person or entity from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value. Spoofing isn't illegal if there's no intent to cause harm.
Illegal spoofers can face fines of up to $10,000 per violation of the law.
Spoofing that's intended to hide identity can be permitted under certain circumstances. For example, law enforcement agencies working on cases, victims of domestic violence, or doctors wishing to discuss private medical matters may all be exempt from these rules.
What's the Traced Act? How will that stop robocalls?
The Traced (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence) Act, was signed into law in December 2019 by President Donald Trump. It basically makes compliance with the Stir/Shaken technology mandatory for all voice service providers.
The law directed the FCC to come up with rules to require voice providers to implement the technology within 18 months.
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I expect the robo callers have a plan b, at a minimum to replace lost income. I hope they are not so talented that they make the fraud, scam and ransom ware business more impactful on our lives.
As Mik said it’s a minor nuisance now, hope the cure is not worse than the disease.
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We get a lot of calls from National, Grid (with the comma included in the caller ID) trying to sell us knock-off electricity.
I thought the comma addition was a very cunning stunt.
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@copper said in Stir/Shaken:
Over the last few months I probably averaged 1-2 per weekday.
The calls are for car warranty and Medicare add-ons mostly.
I usually answer them and don't say anything, just to waste some of their time.
I never answer under the theory that a validated answer just gets you on more lists but I’m not sure if that is true.
