How to Fix the Scam Likely Calls Problem with STIR/SHAKEN

Outbound telemarketing remains a crucial strategy for many companies, but leaders have to stay vigilant against their own calls showing up as "Scam Likely." It's a technical problem, and many large organizations don't even know who to ask when it happens.

STIR/SHAKEN, now largely implemented across the industry, is the primary tool for signaling a call's trustworthiness to both carriers and the people being called. Every call placed through a STIR/SHAKEN telecom carrier gets signed with an A, B, or C attestation — A attestation confirms the authenticity of the calling party information, and calls with full attestation are the ones that actually achieve higher answer rates.

A little background

Under the TRACED Act, the FCC required all telecom providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN within a defined timeframe, with implementation now roughly 95% complete and very few extensions still outstanding. The framework combats caller ID spoofing by verifying, through digital certificates, that a Caller ID genuinely belongs to the authenticated calling party — letting telecom providers enable outbound marketers to make authenticated calls that build trust rather than suspicion.

Why outbound telemarketing is worth protecting

A 2020 Inc.com report found outbound telemarketing was the second most effective sales strategy businesses used, with a 50% response rate — just behind lead nurturing at 55%. STIR/SHAKEN is what's protecting that channel from becoming ineffective as robocall volume climbs.

The specific benefits for outbound marketers

STIR/SHAKEN legitimizes the caller ID itself, directly increasing the odds a call gets answered — and Forbes has reported the technology has meaningfully reduced fraudulent calls in the B2B space, helping legitimate campaigns avoid being mistaken for scams in the first place. As the FCC continues tightening enforcement, telecom providers upgrading to meet these standards are giving outbound marketers the highest achievable response rates, more trust from the people they call, and a stronger brand reputation overall.