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FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

docs.fcc.gov

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Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#81

Post by MFLoon »

hirundo wrote: post #36

90% of my phone calls are from the same outfit informing me that this is my last chance to renew the extended warranty on my car. Based on my call history that recording is officially my best friend. And a very forgiving one given that it has been my last chance hundreds of times over the past several years. I hope this regulation won't interfere with our relationship.

Mine are mostly offers for a pre-approved $250,000 loan, available in less than 48 hours, for my non-existent small business. Curious what stolen mailing list I'm on that makes scammers think I'm a small business owner. Flattering really, that they'd think I have the potential to become one.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#82

Post by zubi »

7ewis wrote: post #72
zubi wrote: post #21

For those who don't live in the US, this entertaining video by John Oliver might give some context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO0iG_P0P6M

Ironically, the video is only available in the US. Had to hop onto my VPN to view. Edit: Ok, at least not viewable in the UK!

Interesting. I was able to watch it from somewhere not in the US before posting.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#83

Post by entropicdrifter »

pathseeker wrote: post #74
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the same outfit informing me that this is my last chance to renew the extended warranty on my car I get this too. Which is great, my being a New Yorker who hasn’t had a driver’s license for close to a decade.

What do you use for an ID? Passport card? State issued ID?

It's generally a bad idea to carry your passport around just because it has your SSN printed on it

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#84

Post by selectnull »

octocop wrote: post #78
reaperducer wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this problem unique to the USA? Every time this topic comes up on HN, someone asks that same question. Then there's a bunch of responses that are lots of suppositions. Then several people from small European countries chime in saying they've never had a spam call. Then a bunch of Europeans from large countries show up saying they get spam calls, too, and it's not just an American thing. "Why is this problem un…

Isn't FCC unique to USA? Well there you have it.

Hmmm... no! I guess every country has an equivalent agency to FCC.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#85

Post by amyjess »

hirundo wrote: post #36

90% of my phone calls are from the same outfit informing me that this is my last chance to renew the extended warranty on my car. Based on my call history that recording is officially my best friend. And a very forgiving one given that it has been my last chance hundreds of times over the past several years. I hope this regulation won't interfere with our relationship.

I don't even own a car, and I get them all the time. I make sure to very loudly laugh whenever I get one of those calls, even when I'm completely alone (which has been a little over two weeks solid now...).

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#86

Post by skissane »

Negitivefrags wrote: post #31

Why is this problem unique to the USA? I'm not saying I never get spam calls, but I certainly have to scroll back quite a bit in my phone call history to see the last one. Also, on the rare occasion I do get a spam call it's always from some random international country like South Sudan or Oman that I would never expect a phone call from. What makes this problem uniquely hard to solve for the USA as opposed to anywhe…

> What makes this problem uniquely hard to solve for the USA as opposed to anywhere else?

Starting back in 2018 or so there has been a big problem in Australia with scam robocalls claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office. The area code on the phone number said it came from Canberra (Australia's national capital) which made it look more legitimate–even though in reality the call was coming from an overseas call centre. The robocall started out by saying that you owe a tax debt and the government was about to commence legal action against you. I got several, most people would hang up realising that the tax office would never do that. (It is illegal for them to discuss your tax affairs without confirming your identity first, so they would never begin a call by saying you owed them money.) But, some people (many of whom were older/vulnerable people), stayed on the call until the live operator connected. The live operator would then pressure them to go to a store and buy thousands of dollars of gift cards (such as Apple iTunes gift cards) and then read the gift card details out over the phone.

So this definitely is not a problem unique to the US. And other countries have been taking action, see e.g. in Australia – https://www.zdnet.com/article/acma-proposes-three-point-acti...

(Definitely the incidence of these fake calls appears to be falling, in my personal experience, so I think the Australian authorities'/industry's attempts are producing some results.)

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#87

Post by dmurray »

bigbird-media wrote: post #62

Summary: The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules requiring caller ID authentication using technical standards known as “STIR/SHAKEN.” These rules will further the FCC’s efforts to protect consumers against malicious caller ID “spoofing,” which is often used during robocall scam campaigns.

This made me check the date, but it's still March 31 in the US.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#88

Post by davidajackson »

I don't think SHAKEN/STIR will stop robocalls, because the economics won't change. It's too easy for foreign robocalls to cycle numbers once one gets blocked. It will help with impersonation, but I don't believe it will significantly decrease robocall volume.

I think the telecommunications world will need to adopt whitelisting instead of blacklisting. I run a whitelist-based robocall blocking service called CallStop and a lot of customers have straight up given up using their landline, or their personal number with unknown numbers.

People who claim that whitelisting is a bad solution because it could block an emergency call don't realize that many people don't answer unknown calls anymore--and I don't think SHAKEN/STIR will change that.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#89

Post by selectnull »

7ewis wrote: post #72
zubi wrote: post #21

For those who don't live in the US, this entertaining video by John Oliver might give some context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO0iG_P0P6M

Ironically, the video is only available in the US. Had to hop onto my VPN to view. Edit: Ok, at least not viewable in the UK!

I'm not in the US and I'm able to watch it. Maybe it's not available in your country, but it is available in at least one other country than US.

Re: FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021 [pdf]

#90

Post by JumpCrisscross »

entropicdrifter wrote: post #83
pathseeker wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you use for an ID? Passport card? State issued ID?

It's generally a bad idea to carry your passport around just because it has your SSN printed on it

> passport...has your SSN printed on it

My U.S. passport certainly doesn’t.

(Agree that it’s a poor form of primary identification. It is bulky. It is difficult to replace. And it contains more information than you need for identification.)

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