T-Mobile, Comcast Turn on Call Verification Between Networks in Latest Robocall Fight (usatoday.com)

pgmrdlm shares a report: Calls between T-Mobile users and Comcast's Xfinity Voice home subscribers will now be "verified," the latest move in the ongoing fight against robocalls. The two companies announced Wednesday that they have launched cross-network verification, allowing users to know that the calls they are receiving is from an actual person and not a spammer or robocaller.

They use a handoff system recommended by the FCC where the caller's network verifies that a legitimate call is being made with a "digital signature." The recipient's network then confirms the signature on its side. A number of major wireless and traditional home voice providers have pledged support for the verification method, including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Charter, Cox and Vonage, with several announcing plans to roll out or test the feature in 2019.

Comments

took them long enough

[Anonymous Coward]

This seems like something that should have been done...forever?

Re:took them long enough

[XXongo]

You know, yes, you can come up with problems, but the existing system has totally failed due to robocalls spoofing phone numbers.

Pretty much all my friends now tell me that they never answer their phone unless the calling number is on their contacts list, simply because the number of fake calls so outnumbers the real calls that it's worth the fact that sometimes you miss calls from somebody who actually does need to get hold of you.

(but... I did manage to keep the Microsoft repair guy, who cold called me at about 2:30 today, on the phone for 17 minutes. I think that's a record for me.)

Much ado about nothing?

[Lab Rat Jason]

How many robocalls were transiting between these two networks? Personally, I'd prefer if Verison would simply verify calls that were supposedly coming from their OWN network.

Re:Much ado about nothing?

[dissy]

Also, does every network need to add call verification between each network separately?

Of course not.
Networks can choose to send verification certificates or not.
Your phone, eventually, will gain the ability to see if the originating network sent a certificate or not.
Your phone - ok, hopefully - should eventually gain the ability to act on that information.

This will take forever. The spammers will just use a network that doesn't have call verification setup.

Apple and Google both have stated they will be implementing the shaken/stirprotocols in their OSes.
For Apple and Google made or stock Android using phones, which they claimed last month would be within a year.

After that you can choose what to do with unverified calls, very likely with the same options as for the caller ID "private" bit, or when no caller ID is sent usually called "unknown"

If it takes any longer, that would likely be the fault of your carrier not pushing an android update, or having an old un-updatable phone.

Just keep in mind this particular verification only works with IP based calls, such as cell phones, voip, and carriers utilizing fiber/docsis cable.
TDM carried calls can't even support this verification protocol, so if you block instead of flag, that will be all of the worlds landlines in one swath.

What about the small carriers ?

[psergiu]

What if the large carriers all implement FCC's SHAKEN/STIR between them but then refuse to do the same thing for all the small carriers ?
Then start marking all non-verified calls as SPAM ?
Don't say it could not happen.

Please Report All US Scams to the FBI

[BrendaEM]

We also need make our politicians to be tougher on robocalls.

Re:A bit more complicated. Cincinnati Bell & A

[nitehawk214]

Then don't fucking spoof your own customer service number into the call.