It all started last Thanksgiving. I received a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. The caller told me my number had been chosen to receive tax-free money from the government. I burst out laughing — this was obviously a scam.
Since that day, I began receiving well over 20 robocalls and scam calls every day. After nearly one month of this living hell, I caved and put my name on the National Do Not Call Registry, which callers and carriers are supposed to consult. Not shockingly, most do not follow this regulation and end up calling your number even though it's on the list. Yet, I have seen a huge drop in robocalls and spam calls, which has been a big relief.
Finally, though, phone companies are doing something about robocalls.
This epidemic of 26.3 billion scam calls made last year to U.S. numbers, resulted in people simply not picking up their phones as the situation worsened. After threats from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to regulate companies that do not adopt anti-robocall technologies in the coming year, change is being made. AT&T and Comcast have partnered to roll out technologies to authenticate calls made between the two networks. This industry-first step in the right direction to fight this nuisance is supported by the networks' competitors, including Verizon, Sprint, and Google.
Say hello to the SHAKEN and STIR protocols. This is how they work.
Calls between the carriers will be authenticated using the protocols SHAKEN and STIR. When calls are made, their sources are verified through certificates that prove a call is coming from where it says it is coming. Although immediate call-dropping isn't a component of the protocols, the system will flag unverified numbers and warn recipients.
T-Mobile released a limited version of this service earlier this year for calls within its networks. Sprint is committed to testing a compatible system later this year. As a Verizon customer with a Google Pixel phone, I've seen steps by both companies to crack down on scam callers. Both the network and my phone recognize potential scam callers and warn me beforehand, much like the system that will be rolled out. I simply let these calls ring through. Google rolled out a 'screen call' feature in which you can ask your Google Assistant to pick up the phone and say a pre-recorded message. I use this for calls that don't come with a warning, and 99% of these callers hang up as soon as the message starts playing. I then go in and block and report these numbers, as part of Verizon's safety features.
