What is Robocall Mitigation Compliance?
What is Robocall Mitigation Compliance?
Section titled “What is Robocall Mitigation Compliance?”Telecommunication fraud continues to be a significant problem for consumers and businesses across North America. Reported telecom-related losses have grown year over year, and robocalls remain among the most common complaints to regulators. One of the most effective responses to this problem is the mandated compliance with robocall mitigation programs.
What is a Robocall Mitigation Program?
Section titled “What is a Robocall Mitigation Program?”A robocall mitigation program (RMP) refers to processes and systems used by voice service providers to prevent unlawful robocalls from originating on their network. RMPs take several forms.
Types of Robocall Mitigation Programs
Section titled “Types of Robocall Mitigation Programs”Blocklists A collection of phone numbers known to have originated spam or fraudulent calls. Numbers on the blocklist are automatically blocked on both inbound and outbound calls.
Caller ID Reputation Services that assign a reputation or risk rating to phone numbers to help carriers and consumers evaluate incoming calls. These systems use databases of reported spam activity, call behavior patterns, and carrier feedback.
Dynamic Traffic Analysis A process that analyzes patterns in call volume, answer rates, and average call duration to identify numbers likely operated by scammers. For example, numbers with high answer rates but very short call durations are common indicators of fraud.
Call Screening Services that provide information about who is calling and why before the recipient answers. CAPTCHA gateways and interactive prompts slow down automated dialing systems and reduce the effectiveness of mass robocall campaigns.
Challenges: Caller ID Spoofing
Section titled “Challenges: Caller ID Spoofing”A major obstacle to all RMPs is Caller ID spoofing, where a caller falsifies the number or name shown to the recipient. When the originating number cannot be trusted, blocklists and reputation scoring are less effective.
STIR/SHAKEN
Section titled “STIR/SHAKEN”STIR/SHAKEN is a call authentication framework implemented by the CRTC in Canada and the FCC in the United States to verify the origin of inbound calls and deter illegal Caller ID spoofing.
- STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) applies to VoIP systems and uses cryptographic certificates to attest how confidently a carrier can verify that a call is coming from the claimed number.
- SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs) extends this framework to non-VoIP systems such as conventional mobile networks.
Compliance with STIR/SHAKEN is mandated for voice carriers in North America. Carriers must certify their compliance in the Robocall Mitigation Database.
Mandatory Compliance Under the TRACED Act
Section titled “Mandatory Compliance Under the TRACED Act”Voice service providers (VSPs) are legally required under the TRACED Act to take action against robocalls. The FCC requires all providers to certify in the Robocall Mitigation Database that they have either:
- Fully implemented STIR/SHAKEN, or
- Instituted a robocall mitigation program to prevent origination of illegal robocalls, or
- Both.
Providers that have not certified in the database may have their traffic blocked by downstream carriers.
Limitations
Section titled “Limitations”STIR/SHAKEN and mandatory RMPs are important steps but are not a complete solution:
- They do not block unverified calls — they only label them.
- International robocalls can bypass US authentication standards.
- Small carriers received extensions on STIR/SHAKEN deadlines, meaning full industry coverage took several years.
- Caller ID spoofing remains possible through certain loopholes.
How SIPSTACK Addresses Robocall Mitigation
Section titled “How SIPSTACK Addresses Robocall Mitigation”SIPSTACK complies with STIR/SHAKEN requirements and maintains registration in the Robocall Mitigation Database. SIPSTACK’s platform uses real-time analysis against security variables to authenticate call activity and support carriers in applying risk-based call handling. Contact SIPSTACK to learn more about fraud protection options.