There's been a surge in robocalls during the pandemic, but relief might be on the way. The FCC's latest ruling just went into effect this week.
Phone scams have a major cost on Americans. A new report from TrueCaller said almost $30 billion was lost to scams in the past year, and almost 60 million Americans report losing money to a phone scam in the last year.
A new tool to fix the problem is called Stir/Shaken. It's a call verification system that will make it harder for scammers to hide their numbers, a strategy known as spoofing.
Mobile carriers had to implement the technology by June 30. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all say they're fully compliant with the FCC's rules. Smaller carriers with fewer than 100,000 customers, however, have until 2023 to implement the technology.
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Carriers will now have to certify if an incoming call is really coming from the number displayed on your caller ID. If it isn't. it will block the call before your phone even rings.
Does this mean an end to robocalls? Probably not. There may be a drop, but people who want to steal your money will find new ways to make illegal calls.
