Have those annoying robocalls for auto warranty services ceased? Here’s why.
Have calls about extended auto warranties blown up your cellphone this year? If so, they should dwindle in number almost immediately thanks to new guidelines from the Federal Communications Commission.
Wednesday marked the deadline for most phone providers to implement new technology designed to combat these types of calls.
If your phone is still ringing, here’s what you need to know:
What is this new technology?
The FCC adopted new rules for phone companies requiring implementation of caller ID authentication. It uses technical standards known as “STIR/ SHAKEN” — acronyms for the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) standards.
It means calls through phone networks utilizing the technology now have their caller ID “signed” as legitimate by the originating carrier and validated by other carriers before reaching consumers, the FCC says.
How will it help?
It’s said to be the largest effort to date by the FCC to protect consumers against malicious caller ID “spoofing,” which is often used to trick consumers into answering their phones. Officials say the technology also allows consumers and law enforcement to more readily identify the source of illegal robocalls and help reduce their frequency and impact.
Who will it help?
Americans received just under 22 billion robocalls in the first five months of the year, according to YouMail, a free robocall blocking app and call protection service for mobile phones. But even with a second straight decrease in monthly volumes and the lowest levels of robocalls this year, Americans remained on pace to hit over 52 billion robocalls for the year.
In that sense, the latest effort by the FCC should help just about everyone carrying a phone on a participating network.
Is my carrier participating?
The deadline for STIR/ SHAKEN certification was Wednesday, and many phone carriers were quick to assure the public they were in compliance.
Jon Freier, executive vice president of T-Mobile Consumer Group, said in a news release, “We were first to implement number verification in 2019 and today, all calls originating on the T-Mobile network are 100% STIR/SHAKEN compliant, giving our customers peace of mind that their calls are protected against scammers and spammers.”
Verizon said more than 78 million customers have been protected from more than 13 billion unwanted calls, and the company has been driving adoption of STIR/SHAKEN. The company said it’s exchanging STIR/SHAKEN-enabled calls with wireless carriers that collectively represent around 80% of the U.S. wireless industry.
AT&T also said it recently ramped up its “spam-swatting” to more than a billion calls per month.
What else do I need to know?
The Wednesday deadline set by the FCC is only for major carriers. Small carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers will be exempt until June 30, 2023.
The new rules also won’t circumvent international calls, and so-called legacy phone networks must still get up to speed with the technology. The FCC says rules require providers using older forms of network technology to either upgrade their networks or actively work to develop a caller ID authentication solution.
The bottom line is that STIR/ SHAKEN won’t completely curtail robocalls, but officials say it should cut down on the fraudulent schemes and begin to restore trust in caller ID information.