GATINEAU — With telecom service providers now required to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology to combat caller ID spoofing, many Canadians will now be able to determine which calls can be trusted, says the CRTC in a press release issued today.
As of Nov. 30, service providers are mandated to use STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) to “certify whether a caller’s identity can be trusted by verifying the caller ID information for Internet Protocol-based voice calls,” explains the press release.
The CRTC notes in the release “not all calls will be verifiable due to device and network compatibility requirements, including calls that are not entirely performed over an IP-voice network.”
“This new caller ID technology will empower Canadians to determine which calls are legitimate and worth answering, and which need to be treated with caution. As more providers upgrade their networks, STIR/SHAKEN will undoubtedly reduce spoofing and help Canadians regain peace of mind when answering phone calls,” said CRTC chairperson and CEO Ian Scott, in the release.
The CRTC outlined some of its other efforts over the last several years to combat nuisance and unsolicited phone calls, including:
- Encouraging service providers to offer their customers call-filtering services that provide advanced call-management features.
- Asking providers to block certain types of calls within their networks.
- Approving a trial of a new call-blocking measure using artificial intelligence developed by Bell Canada. “Between July 2020 and October 2021, more than 1.1 billion calls were blocked before reaching Bell’s subscribers,” the CRTC’s press release says.
The CRTC says it is also working with the industry to develop a process to trace nuisance calls back to their points of origin.
“The CRTC continues to work with its domestic and international partners to address unsolicited and illegitimate telemarketing calls,” the release says.
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