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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]

#151

Post by r00fus »

mehrdadn wrote: post #145

Can someone explain what this will translate into in terms of the end-user experience? For one thing, authentication will be next to useless (at least to me) if my phone is still going to ring. So does that mean it's not going to ring for a spoofed number? Also, if it results in tons of voicemail then that's still going to be quite annoying. (How) is the actual end-user experience going to be addressed?

Maybe I'm missing something but if authentication is allowed, it will allow the client or carrier to block calls based on authenticated ID accurately. RN that's effectively impossible.

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

#152

Post by omginternets »

reaperducer wrote: post #68
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…

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…

Oh, I can actually weigh in here. In the past ten years, I've spent significant amounts of time in the US, France and the UK.

In the UK, I get the occasional spam call ("I'm calling with regards to the recent accident that wasn't your fault..."). At its peak, I got about one such call per week. It's been months since I've had a spam call.

In France, I got zero. In the 7 years I lived there, I got exactly zero.

Every time I go to the US, I get 2-5 per day ("last chance to renew the extended warranty on your car").

As is often the case, things are bigger in the US.

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

#153

Post by dsmithn »

mulmen wrote: post #3

Does this mean I can start answering my phone again? Are there other vectors for spam calling which are not addressed by this solution?

I really hope so. I stopped answering calls from unknown numbers until a year ago when I got a call from the same number twice and it was a paramedic calling to let me know my wife was in a car accident. She was awake enough to remember my number but her phone was lost.

So now I can't help but answer calls from unknown numbers even though I know 999 out of 1000 of them will be spam. It's abusive and an incredible waste of everyone's time and energy, not to mention in my case I wasted 10 minutes of critical time I should have been with her at the hospital.

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

#154

Post by g_p »

mehrdadn wrote: post #145

Can someone explain what this will translate into in terms of the end-user experience? For one thing, authentication will be next to useless (at least to me) if my phone is still going to ring. So does that mean it's not going to ring for a spoofed number? Also, if it results in tons of voicemail then that's still going to be quite annoying. (How) is the actual end-user experience going to be addressed?

From my understanding, spoofed calls won’t get onto your carrier’a network under this model, let alone ring your phone. All this assumes that sorting out spoofing resolves the problem, which isn’t guaranteed.

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

#155

Post by throwaway829 »

mehrdadn wrote: post #145

Can someone explain what this will translate into in terms of the end-user experience? For one thing, authentication will be next to useless (at least to me) if my phone is still going to ring. So does that mean it's not going to ring for a spoofed number? Also, if it results in tons of voicemail then that's still going to be quite annoying. (How) is the actual end-user experience going to be addressed?

> STIR/SHAKEN enables phone companies to verify that the caller ID information transmitted with a call matches the caller’s phone number.

Seems to target spoofing. If they can eliminate spoofing it should make tracking down bad actors easier which should ultimately put many of them out of business.

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

#156

Post by r00fus »

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?

Being carded for buying liquor. 2ndary auth for CC charge (rare now). Proof of status (veteran/senior). Voting (where required).

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

#157

Post by cglong »

mehrdadn wrote: post #145

Can someone explain what this will translate into in terms of the end-user experience? For one thing, authentication will be next to useless (at least to me) if my phone is still going to ring. So does that mean it's not going to ring for a spoofed number? Also, if it results in tons of voicemail then that's still going to be quite annoying. (How) is the actual end-user experience going to be addressed?

From my understanding, it basically means all telecoms will be required to do what T-Mobile already does in the U.S. If I get a call and the reported Caller ID doesn't match the transmitted one, it reads on my phone as "Scam Likely".

Pixels also have their own solution to this: If that condition occurs, the Google Assistant will answer the call and auto-decline if it is actually a robocall.

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

#158

Post by mehrdadn »

g_p wrote: post #154
mehrdadn wrote: post #145

Can someone explain what this will translate into in terms of the end-user experience? For one thing, authentication will be next to useless (at least to me) if my phone is still going to ring. So does that mean it's not going to ring for a spoofed number? Also, if it results in tons of voicemail then that's still going to be quite annoying. (How) is the actual end-user experience going to be addressed?

From my understanding, spoofed calls won’t get onto your carrier’a network under this model, let alone ring your phone. All this assumes that sorting out spoofing resolves the problem, which isn’t guaranteed.

I thought they still go through to the carrier? Just under a different attestation level: https://www.bandwidth.com/glossary/stir-shaken/

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

#159

Post by lukevp »

hadrien01 wrote: post #94
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…

I live in one of the largest countries in the EU and I receive one, maybe two, spam calls a month (and always coming from countries outside the EU). From what I understand from the never-ending list of articles about spam calls in the US, some receive tens, sometimes hundreds of spam calls every day! So yes, this problem is, from our EU perspective, unique to the USA.

I get 5-10 per day in USA these days. I turned on silence unknown callers and it’s not terrible anymore but still ridiculous that it’s allowed to happen.

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

#160

Post by dahart »

munk-a wrote: post #127
jrimbault wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've pushed that reflex further : if it's important, the information will find its way to me.

I just wish various Doctors and Dentists could jump on the text/email bandwagon. Those two groups are responsible for nearly all of my phone usage - with a slim minority (that is itself mostly spam) being calls from my bank.

> I just wish various Doctors and Dentists could jump on the text/email bandwagon.

Mine have already, and I assumed it was becoming ubiquitous already.

I'm frustrated with it because I get multiple texts, multiple emails, and multiple voice calls & voice messages for every appointment I make. I want maybe one text reminder the day before or a couple of hours before and no more, just in case I forgot to set my own reminder. But usually I do have it in my calendar reminding me anyway, just two more notifications on top of the 10 the doc/dentist sends me... :P

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