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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. I

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.

ehsankia 7y ago
Can you extend a bit on that, maybe I'm not understanding the problem right. Isn't having calls being authenticated the first step before you have whitelist/blacklist? Once every call can be definitively attached to a given source, then you can ban any foreign provider that let's these proliferate completely, no?
- davidajackson 7y ago
  SHAKEN/STIR + Whitelisting is the best solution. SHAKEN/STIR by itself isn't going to change things too much I think. But it is a step in the right direction. Whitelisting without SHAKEN/STIR is still extremely functional. There are billions of unique American numbers possible, and with 250-500 average contacts per random dial, contact spoofing is not statistically significant.
  - fortran77 7y ago
    Not when you can contact spoof banks, major drug store chains, AppleCare, etc.
    - davidajackson 7y ago
      Good point, if they're calling from a specific number. I see of lot of complaints about companies like FedEx though, where the calls come from random numbers.
  - ehsankia 7y ago
    That's what I was getting at, S/S seems like a foundational step, before being able to whitelist/blacklist. You first need to be certain about the source of the call before you can actually moderate it. Without authentication, spoofing makes banning numbers meaningless and dangerous.
Wowfunhappy 7y ago
How do you get a new US phone number? (I'll likely block anything from outside the US if authentication happens.)
- davidajackson 7y ago
  You don't, you just forward your current number to protect it.

ehsankia 7y ago

Can you extend a bit on that, maybe I'm not understanding the problem right. Isn't having calls being authenticated the first step before you have whitelist/blacklist? Once every call can be definitively attached to a given source, then you can ban any foreign provider that let's these proliferate completely, no?

davidajackson 7y ago
SHAKEN/STIR + Whitelisting is the best solution. SHAKEN/STIR by itself isn't going to change things too much I think. But it is a step in the right direction. Whitelisting without SHAKEN/STIR is still extremely functional. There are billions of unique American numbers possible, and with 250-500 average contacts per random dial, contact spoofing is not statistically significant.
- fortran77 7y ago
  Not when you can contact spoof banks, major drug store chains, AppleCare, etc.
  - davidajackson 7y ago
    Good point, if they're calling from a specific number. I see of lot of complaints about companies like FedEx though, where the calls come from random numbers.
- ehsankia 7y ago
  That's what I was getting at, S/S seems like a foundational step, before being able to whitelist/blacklist. You first need to be certain about the source of the call before you can actually moderate it. Without authentication, spoofing makes banning numbers meaningless and dangerous.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago

How do you get a new US phone number? (I'll likely block anything from outside the US if authentication happens.)

davidajackson 7y ago
You don't, you just forward your current number to protect it.