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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]

#161

Post by jborichevskiy »

dsmithn wrote: post #153
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 was…

Missing an emergency call like that from a family member or close friend is one of my fears. I do hope these regulations come with teeth.

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

#162

Post by mehrdadn »

cglong wrote: post #157
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.

So that means phones will still ring (unless you have a Pixel or something)? That will still drive people crazy!

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

#163

Post by mehrdadn »

r00fus wrote: post #151
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.

Yeah I get that, but I'm asking what a user should expect to actually happen by that time, not what a user should expect to be theoretically no longer impossible by that time.

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

#164

Post by mehrdadn »

throwaway829 wrote: post #155
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.

I don't think actually tracking down the bad actors is the motivation for this is it? You're still going to be blind to the call behind the originating network; you just won't get attestation as to its identity.

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

#165

Post by II2II »

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?

Presumably it would reduce the amount of fraud. While it may not deter legal nuisance calls, that should make the phone a more reliable communications medium. That's especially true for businesses and government since, with the current state of affairs, it isn't even worth verifying that an incoming call is legitimate. Not to mention that spoofed numbers make targeted attacks possible.

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

#167

Post by hwbehrens »

mehrdadn wrote: post #162
cglong wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

So that means phones will still ring (unless you have a Pixel or something)? That will still drive people crazy!

iOS also has a feature to send unknown calls directly to voicemail without ringing through [0]. It seems an easy jump to classify numbers into three categories (known, unknown but authenticated, and unauthenticated) rather than two once reliable authentication is available.

[0]: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099

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

#168

Post by pkaye »

StavrosK wrote: post #61
robert_foss wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sweden telephone operators can be forbidden from let spam categorized numbers reach you. That and you know.. breaking the law has actual consequences for both spammers and telcos.

Same in Greece, I think it's EU-wide. When you tell a spammer you're registered in our do-not-call registry, they get scared pretty quickly and swear they'll never call again. They usually don't.

Do the spammers speak greek or english?

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

#169

Post by manigandham »

evan_ wrote: post #143
manigandham wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is now a feature on both iOS and Android to mute incoming calls that are not a contact. Voicemails still work fine, and with automatic transcription and all the other digital channels still open, there's no real reason to worry about anonymous calls anymore.

Yeah this worked really well for me until the county health department called from an unknown number to tell me my child had been exposed to COVID-19.

Did they not leave a voicemail? Was there no transcription? How'd you end up getting the info?

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

#170

Post by yellow_lead »

mehrdadn wrote: post #162
cglong wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

So that means phones will still ring (unless you have a Pixel or something)? That will still drive people crazy!

Some carriers may have the ability to limit calls to customers based on attestation level. Customer could configure they only want to receive i.e "A" attested calls. This means the carrier from where the call originated knows that the customer who made the call owns the number they dialed from.
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