What is STIR/SHAKEN?

STIR/SHAKEN is a technology framework designed to reduce fraudulent robocalls and illegal phone number spoofing.

The FCC has adopted rules requiring service providers to deploy a STIR/SHAKEN solution by June 30, 2021.

What’s the difference between STIR and SHAKEN?

STIR is a working group within the IETF, an internet standards body, which has developed a set of protocols used to create a digital signature for a call. The signed call includes information about the calling party and allows for verification of the signature by the terminating provider.

SHAKEN are the standards for how STIR is to be deployed by service providers within their networks.

Why is STIR/SHAKEN so important?

Between 3 and 5 billion robocalls are made each month, and research suggests that more than 40% of those calls are thought to be fraud-related.

STIR/SHAKEN is an industry-wide initiative to restore trust in our voice communications. Its goal is to prevent fraudsters from scamming consumers and businesses through robocalls and illegal phone number spoofing, while making sure that legitimate calls reach the recipient.

Is Primecall STIR/SHAKEN Compliant?

Yes! Primecall uses STIR/SHAKEN compliant carriers to process our phone calls. This means you can rest assured that you are phone calls are secured. 

What Else Can Be Done?

While the industry settled on SHAKEN as *the* definitive method for dealing with authentication, it seems that the mobile carriers had different ideas and have implemented their own SPAM control, of which SHAKEN is just one factor. So, ultimately, SHAKEN attestation is just a "suggestion". We have seen this several times and, as stated earlier, submitting the numbers to their whitelists does seem to help -- we haven't had the repeat complaint (yet) of numbers falling off the whitelist. Of course, each carrier has their own.