Hanging Up on All the Spam

You’re not crazy. Half of the phone calls you get really are spam; an average of 54%, to be exact. With 46% of Americans receiving spam calls every day and 46 billion robocalls in 2020 alone, America is the 8th most spammed place in the world. 

 

Of course this isn’t just about annoying calls. Spammers make about $375 per American, and in 2020, the cost to us was $10 billion. 

Reputable businesses are also bearing the brunt of the cost. Spammers spoof phone numbers to appear legitimate which has not only allowed robocalls to increase significantly, but has also caused consumers to mistrust any unknown number; even those coming from valid businesses for valid reasons. Phone carriers attempt to combat spam calls via spam algorithms, but these algorithms often miscatagorizes reputable businesses as spam. 

 

Legislators are now fighting back with Stir/Shaken regulations. Stir/Shaken works by sending numbers for authentication via phone carriers. Then, caller ID may show that the caller is verified or likely spam. Three attestation levels show either that the customer and number are verified; the customer is verified, but not the number; or the call origination is not authenticated. 

The benefits of STIR/SHAKEN are that call recipients have more information and more control and that businesses can be authenticated and verified to be trusted by consumers.

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