Ask HN: Is the STIR/SHAKEN protocol going to stop spam phone calls?

5 pointsdangwu2 comments

STIR/SHAKEN [1] is a suite of protocols and procedures intended to combat caller ID spoofing on public telephone networks. The FCC is requiring use of the protocol by June 30, 2021. Will it actually work? Will it render all the spam blocker apps useless?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STIR/SHAKEN

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I very much doubt it. Spam isn't a technical problem, it's a business problem. Carriers already know who originates the calls - after all, they have to bill each other.

There's no reason carriers couldn't already cut off sources of spam, besides the fact that they profit from it and would rather turn a blind eye.

STIR/SHAKEN may reduce caller ID spoofing, but does the majority of spam really require that? I'd assume only a very small chunk of spam actually relies on spoofing caller ID - the rest are just legitimate but random numbers.

Given the low cost of legitimate numbers (20 cents a month on some VOIP services), it seems unlikely it will stop spam.

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