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STIR/SHAKEN Resource Hub

News and Insights on Regulations, Standards and Solutions to Combat Robocalls

Scam robocalls have destroyed trust in phone calls; fraudsters spoof the caller ID to make it appear as if the call is coming from a legitimate business to trick unsuspecting consumers. This results in people no longer answering their phones, brands’ reputations being tarnished, consumers being ripped off and critical information not getting through. This hub provides you with the information and tools you need to stay up-to-date on the fight against illegal robocalls and call scams.

Challenges
Regulations
Standards
Adoption
Solutions
Resources

Challenges of the Call Experience

Businesses still use voice calls to share complex, urgent or sensitive communication in our digital world. But the negative impacts of robocalling have made it difficult to reach customers by phone.

Why are customers not answering phone calls from your company?

How do the challenges you face in contacting customers over the voice channel impact your business?

Findings from Neustar commissioned Forrester survey: Why Customers Won't Take Your Call.

Timeline: Anti-Robocall Regulations

Lawmakers and regulators have stepped in to protect consumers with aggressive actions and new rules being put in place.

November 16, 2017
FCC Adopts Rules to Proactively Block Illegal RobocallsRead more

November 5, 2018
FCC Demands Industry Adopt Protocols to End SpoofingRead more

May 23, 2019
TRACED (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence) Act passed by U.S. SenateRead more

June 19, 2019
FCC Affirms Robocall Blocking by Default Read more

July 24, 2019
Stopping Bad Robocalls Act passed by U.S. House of RepresentativesRead more

October 2, 2019
California Consumer Call Protection Act requires implementation of SHAKEN/STIR by January 1, 2021Read more

November 15, 2019
Pallone-Thune TRACED Act announced by U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives that merges TRACED and Stopping Bad Robocalls ActRead more

December 4, 2019
Pallone-Thune TRACED Act approved 417-3 by U.S. House of RepresentativesRead more

December 19, 2019
S.151 Pallone-Thune TRACED Act unanimously approved by U.S. Senate. Read more

December 30, 2019
Pallone-Thune TRACED Act Signed by President Read more

STIR/SHAKEN Standards

Voice Service Providers have been directed by the FCC to implement robust call authentication by the end of 2019. STIR/SHAKEN standards create a secure framework to guarantee caller ID is accurate.

STIR:

Secure Telephony Identity Revisited (STIR) is a set of technical standards developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to certify the identity of originating calls.

SHAKEN:

Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN) is a framework developed by the Alliance of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) to implement STIR within IP-based service provider networks.

Neustar is a co-author of STIR, co-contributor to SHAKEN and exclusive host of the ATIS Robocalling Testbed for validating STIR / SHAKEN implementations.

Digital certificates are used to authenticate phone calls, similar to the way web transactions are validated. With STIR/SHAKEN in place, spoofed calls can be detected and stopped before they reach consumers, or a warning displayed on caller ID.

How STIR/SHAKEN will block spoofed calls:

When a spoofer places a call, the originating carrier cannot verify that the entity is authorized to use that number, so no authentication token is attached.
Without a token, the call fails verification at the terminating carrier.
A warning is displayed on caller ID, or the call is blocked.

Adoption of STIR/SHAKEN

Many carriers are in progress of implementing this call authentication technology.

In a survey taken early 2019, here's what respondents shared where they are in implementing call authentication.

Which stage of implementing call authentication (STIR/SHAKEN) are you in?

What is the MOST IMPORTANT driver to your organization for implementing call authentication?

News Updates

January 10, 2019
T-Mobile First to Launch Caller Verification to Help Protect Customers From Scams

January 17, 2019
Verizon to robocallers: Your days are numbered; starting in March, Verizon's spam and robocalling features to be offered free to all Verizon customers

March 6, 2019
T-Mobile's Network Protects Customers from Over 10 Billion Scam Calls, Expands STIR/SHAKEN Protection

March 20, 2019
AT&T, Comcast Announce Anti-Robocalling Fraud Milestone

March 28, 2019
Verizon offers new ways to battle robocalls

April 17, 2019
T-Mobile and Comcast FIRST to Give Customers New Anti-Robocalling Feature

June 24, 2019
Xfinity Mobile Collaborates with Hiya to Thwart Mobile Robocalls

July 9, 2019
Automatic Blocking of Fraud Calls Coming to Millions of AT&T Customers

July 11, 2019
At FCC Robocall Summit largest carriers express they will implement STIR/SHAKEN by the 2019 deadline

August 14, 2019
AT&T and T-Mobile Work Together to Give Customers New Call Authentication Protections

August 22, 2019
State AGs and 12 major voice service providers sign MOU to incorporate eight anti-robocall principles

October 16, 2019
CenturyLink and Neustar team up to implement STIR/SHAKEN call authentication solution and help restore trust in caller ID

November 21, 2019
T-Mobile, Comcast and Inteliquent Deliver Industry First in War Against Illegal Call Spoofing

December 9, 2019
FCC Chairman Pai & CRTC Chairperson Scott Make First Official Cross-Border STIR/SHAKEN Call

December 10, 2019
Frontier Communications Takes Additional Steps to Combat Illegal Robocalling

December 11, 2019
Bandwidth Announces Successful Implementation of STIR/SHAKEN Call Authentication Regime with Verizon

December 12, 2019
Industry Solution to Detect, Mitigate and Deter Illegal Robocalling Reaches Important Milestone

December 12, 2019
Neustar approved as initial Secure Telephone Identity Certification Authority

December 18, 2019
AT&T Activates Call Validation Displays

February 4, 2020
T-Mobile and Sprint Work Together to Protect Customers from Scam Calls

February 4, 2020
Comcast and Sprint Start Rollout of Anti-Robocall Technology

*Polls taken from webinar attendees: Meeting the FCC Call to Action with STIR/SHAKEN.

Solutions

Below are solutions and resources to help Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and Enterprises manage the negative impacts of robocalling and call scams.

Enterprises
Communication Service Providers

Solutions for Enterprises

Anti-robocall measures have hit enterprises especially hard, with expanded call blocking and spam tagging mistakenly impacting legitimate business calls. In addition, business reputations are at risk from scammers who impersonate brands in order to defraud consumers.

Solutions

Enterprises need ways to effectively reach customers by phone, improve call experiences and protect their brand.

Caller Name Optimization
Prevent wrongful call blocking and spam mislabeling, stop scammers from spoofing your brand and display an accurate caller name and number.

Branded Call Display
Add branding such as a logo to caller ID to provide identity and context.

Contact Center Solutions
Optimize and de-risk outbound calling.

STIR/SHAKEN: Learn what key developments happened in 2019, and our predictions on the momentum moving into 2020. https://t.co/IAlEUlRvFb #stirshaken #fightrobocalls #CommunicationsSolutions pic.twitter.com/vHHkO5Yhs8
— Neustar (@Neustar) January 30, 2020

Read about how CenturyLink and Neustar are partnering on a call authentication solution to combat unwanted robocalls: https://t.co/s5meofLHSf @Neustar pic.twitter.com/6ESbaXGtP6
— CenturyLinkPubPolicy (@CenturyLinkPol) October 16, 2019

Looking for the latest on stopping #robocalls? We know it's a complex problem, but here are some updates you need to know now. https://t.co/rtKh4keedY #CommunicationsSolutions
— Neustar (@Neustar) October 15, 2019

Commissioned FREE @forrester Report: How are #robocalls & #call spam impacting your #customer interactions? Read the new #whitepaper to learn more. https://t.co/RyEMsBFoOr #NeustarRiskSolutions #CommunicationsSolutions pic.twitter.com/XaGJg4SuGW
— Neustar (@Neustar) July 24, 2019

Having issues with #consumers answering your #calls? Stop losing revenue and learn how our #CommunicationsSolutions team can support your #business needs. https://t.co/CMzscoaKgy #robocalls pic.twitter.com/8u9RlJY4nJ
— Neustar (@Neustar) July 17, 2019

Failing to reach your #consumers on the #phone? We have the solutions to make it happen. Learn more: https://t.co/psl0d94mnq #CommunicationsSolutions #B2C pic.twitter.com/uCzvJhlQHy
— Neustar (@Neustar) July 11, 2019

Neustar is a pioneer in call authentication and leader in caller ID. Our long-standing work with key stakeholders in the industry gives us a broad perspective, deep expertise and a unique perspective to bring together the whole picture on robocalling and call fraud.