May 28, 2025
CIDR works with ATIS on Telecom Verifiable Credential (VC) Governance
Although spam calls continue to harass consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that complaints have fallen by more than 50% since 2021. The STIR/SHAKEN framework has been essential in reducing the number of spam calls that reach consumers. It hasn’t completely eliminated the problem, though.
As scammers find creative ways to circumvent security and exploit loopholes, Caller ID Reputation and other leaders in the telecom industry have developed more robust technologies to put an end to spam calls.
With Verifiable Credentials (VC), the telecom industry hopes to rebuild trust with consumers who hesitate to answer incoming calls.
Why Verifiable Credentials Are Essential
Verifiable Credentials act like digital passports that confirm the identities of organizations when they make phone calls.
This is essential because criminals can currently use call spoofing tools to trick consumers. For example, someone might impersonate the phone number of a credit union or other trusted organization. When consumers see that a trustworthy business is calling them, they’re more likely to answer than when they get calls from unknown numbers. Unfortunately, this trust often makes it possible for scammers to defraud consumers.
Similarly, criminals can use number-spoofing software and generative AI to threaten individuals and demand payment. In one incident covered by The New Yorker, a woman received a late-night call from her mother-in-law. When she answered, she heard her mother-in-law’s voice before someone picked up the line and demanded payment in return for her safety. It seemed like a real threat, but it was all a scam.
Verifiable Credentials would make it much harder for scammers like these to impersonate trusted numbers and identities. They might even have the power to significantly reduce scam calls.
How ATIS Enterprise Identity Network Works
ATIS Enterprise Identity Network creates an authoritative source for all vetted identities. Once an organization’s identity has been vetted and confirmed, it receives a unique phone number that gets put in a distributed ledger. All stakeholders connected to the ATIS network can then confirm that the number belongs to the registered identity.
Learn more about ATIS Enterprise Identity stakeholder benefits from this video.
Importance of KYC Compliance
ATIS’s approach to Verifiable Credential governance works because it conforms to Know Your Customer (KYC) standards. ATIS doesn’t assume to know the identities of organizations that want to join its network. Instead, it requires them to prove their identities.
Adding vetted organizations to the distributed ledger contributes to an ecosystem of trust. As more organizations join, the system can more confidently ensure that consumers know where calls come from. Over time, this will push scammers further to the margins, and they’ll become less successful at reaching consumers.
Importantly, the ledger cannot be altered or corrupted. Since it’s a distributed ledger on a decentralized network, a criminal would need to change information on a majority of participating nodes. That would take a tremendous amount of effort, and it’s very unlikely that the criminal would succeed. Industry groups like the Financial Stability Board have already relied on similar technologies for more than a decade, proving that the system works.
Benefits of Implementing KYC Standards
Assigning digital identities to verified enterprise telephone numbers can provide a variety of benefits for the telecom ecosystem.
Some of the most notable benefits include:
- Enhanced consumer trust, making it easier for businesses to connect with customers and leads
- Improved business brand identity that makes consumers feel more confident answering calls and converting into customers
- Increased transparency so service providers can prevent illegal and unethical activities
- Simplified compliance audits that improve operational efficiencies, productivity, and quality
- New business opportunities for organizations willing to become enterprise credential custodians
- Lower regulatory compliance costs
Perhaps most importantly, KYC standards established by Verifiable Credentials mitigate fraud. Over time, that will restore consumer confidence, making it easier for legitimate organizations to connect with their intended customers.
Branded Caller ID With Verifiable Credentials
Verifiable Credentials can already help prevent fraud and increase trust. You can also use the credentials to deliver more robust information about your company and the intent of your call.
Rich Call Data (RCD) lets you leverage the power of caller ID screens and encourages consumers to answer your calls. With RCD, caller ID screens might display your company’s name, brand logo, the department placing the call, and the reason for the call.
The more information you can give consumers, the more comfortable they feel answering calls.
Branded Calling ID is an industry-leading ecosystem that delivers trusted RCD. It relies on authorized partners that collect information from potential enterprises, vetting agents that confirm the accuracy of each enterprise’s information, and a signing agent that generates a cryptographic signature that validates the caller’s identity for other ecosystem members.
