SHAKEN/STIR | Complete Guide to Combatting Illegal Robocalls

Today, we are incredibly fortunate to have the luxury of caller ID. Believe it or not, but there was a point in time when people would answer their phone blindly whenever it rang. Never really knowing who was going to be on the other end of the line.

While that may have once been the case, robocalls have certainly changed things.

When consumers see a number they don’t recognize pop up on their screen, you can almost guarantee that they will be ignoring that call or sending it straight to voicemail. The reason being, consumers have had it with the robotic voices they’ll inevitably need to deal with if they do choose to answer.

Robocalls have long been the thorn in the side of the telecommunications industry. But for the first time, it looks like there may be a light at the end of the robocalling tunnel. Here’s everything you need to know about how things are about to change.

When the Do Not Call Registry first came out in 2003, consumers thought it would be the nail in the coffin for the scammers and telemarketing companies. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. While the Do Not Call Registry helps cut back on robocalls operating within federal guidelines, it does little to combat the scammers and others.

Here are some of the steps you can take to help stop unwanted robocalls:

• Don’t answer anonymous calls, or numbers you don’t recognize.
• Add your number to the Do Not Call Registry.
• Block phone numbers you know are robocalls.
• See if your provider offers services to curb robocalling.

As mentioned before, caller ID is a luxury that we often take for granted. When it was first introduced in the 1980’s, it was a huge hit with both telecom providers and consumers alike. However, it doesn’t take long for bad actors to find a way to ruin a good thing.

For the most part, you can trust the caller ID that shows up on your phone screen. With that in mind, scammers have found a way to leverage technology to use caller ID to their advantage. By masking their phone number, and spoofing the number that shows up on your phone, shady players are using caller ID to increase the likelihood of you answering the phone.

Even with a national Do Not Call Registry and caller ID to help consumers weed out the scammers and spammers, the robocalling continues to persist. At the end of the day, the root of the robocalling problem can only be fixed with capable technology designed specifically for the problem at hand.

This is where SHAKEN/STIR comes in.

Developed by industry experts, SHAKEN/STIR is a new technology standard that aims to eliminate robocalls altogether. SHAKEN/STIR will allow validation to ensure that the person who says their calling is the person who will be on the other end of the phone line. While this new technology shows promise, there are still some areas for concern that can hinder the technology’s ability to deliver on its promise.

Telnyx has already taken a firm stand in the fight against robocalling. With approval by the Secure Telephone Identity Policy Authority (STI-PA), and initial rounds of testing completed, we have been working hard to ensure we meet the SHAKEN/STIR implementation deadline on June 30, 2021.