T-Mobile, Comcast and Inteliquent are teaming up to wage war on scam calls with its STIR/SHAKEN call verification across the three networks.
The system allows consumers to know that when a Comcast’s Xfinity Voice phone calls a T-Mobile phone or vice versa, it is not being generated from a spoof or scamming number. As calls are routed through Inteliquent, it enables peer-to-peer call verification but also connections via tandem networks.
T-Mobile has ported the secure telephony identity revisited (STIR) and secure handling of asserted information using tokens (SHAKEN) system to 17 smartphones with more coming soon. The Caller Verified function is shown on the screen when users get an authentic call from a T-Mobile or Comcast network.
The STIR/SHAKEN systems are standards that are recommended by the FCC to identify authentic calls on networks. Comcast has already implemented the system for all Xfinity Voice home phone subscribers to authenticate residential calls and validate incoming authenticated calls.
Callers are often dismayed at seeing a mysterious number without any Caller ID information on their smartphone, and answering to hear a robotic voice starts offering a deal on a hotel or another scam. Scammers and spoofers are only increasing in number, causing a headache to everyone with a phone worldwide.
“Scammers and spoofers are a scourge on the industry, and at T-Mobile, we’re using every tool available to fight against these bad guys on behalf of consumers,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile.
