December 24, 2025
Importance of Call Traceback Efforts to Combat Illegal Robocalls
Federal regulators, state attorneys general, and telecom industry leaders have been working together for years to eliminate troublesome robocalls. Despite their efforts, U.S. residents still receive millions of robocalls per month.
Clearly, this isn’t an easy problem to solve. A multi-pronged strategy, however, is the most effective way to tackle the issue. Mitigating robocalls will require a variety of solutions, including call traceback efforts.
Robocall Mitigation Framework
Call traceback is one of the four pillars in the robocall mitigation framework. The tools and procedures currently in place to protect Americans from scams include:
STIR/SHAKEN (Call Authentication)
STIR/SHAKEN is a set of protocols and procedures that authenticate call origins to ensure they come from trusted sources.
Analytics Engines (AEs)
Analytics engines collect data to identify and block potential threats.
Know Your Customers (KYC)
Voice service providers need to vet customers before giving them access to tools that could help them target robocall and scam victims.
Similarly, customers should vet their service providers. An unreliable provider could damage your authentication rating, making it harder to reach your audience.
Call Traceback
Traceback efforts give service providers and regulators insight into call origins. Call traceback relies on STIR/SHAKEN data, which providers can then share with regulators when legal action is needed.
How Call Traceback Efforts Protect Consumers
Call traceback efforts were mandated by the TRACED Act, but they’ve largely been developed by industry leaders looking to improve public trust in incoming calls. The Industry Traceback Group (ITG) coordinates with federal and local law enforcement agencies to force voice service users to comply with regulations.
Top service providers in the telecoms industry recognize that robocalls hurt everyone, including companies and the public. When people don’t trust incoming calls, they rarely answer them. That makes it difficult for legitimate companies to connect with consumers. It also prevents consumers from getting important information.
Removing Fraudulent Voice Service Providers (VSP)
There will always be some companies that try to profit by breaking regulations. The ITG and other call traceback efforts are dedicated to identifying these unlawful service providers and terminating their access to telecom networks.
Removing service providers from the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) is one of the most effective ways to protect consumers from robocalls. Companies that aren’t included in the RMD are blocked from the networks that allow dialers to place calls. Once they’re removed, they and their clients can’t target consumers.
Protecting Your Business Calls
Progress toward eliminating robocalls undoubtedly means that some companies that follow regulations will receive blocks, negative call labels, and caller ID warnings. It’s an unfortunate part of cracking down on bad actors.
The good news is that you can take steps to protect your business calls and build trust with consumers. Following the right strategy could improve your connection rates even when your calls don’t get mislabeled.
Work with Trusted Partners
Every partner you work with can contribute to — or detract from — a campaign’s effectiveness. Make sure your network, software provider, and dialing tools are facilitated by trustworthy partners that follow all telecom guidelines.
There are cheaper options out there, but choosing an inexpensive partner with a bad reputation will hurt your revenues in the long run. Opting for the wrong voice service provider (VSP) could even mean that your calls get blocked from reaching consumers. If the VSP doesn’t follow regulations, you’ll lose service when it gets removed from the RMD.
Vet Your Customers (KYC)
If you provide telecom software, network access, or services, vet your customers so you can weed out any bad actors. Eventually, you will find a customer you don’t want to work with. It might seem like a bad idea to reject their account, but doing so will protect your brand’s reputation.
Strive for an A-Attestation Rating
Anything short of an A-attestation rating will make it difficult for you to connect with leads and existing customers. You don’t have full control over your attestation rating, though. If your service provider doesn’t meet all industry standards, your numbers could suffer from a lower rating.
Caller ID Reputation’s Attestation Level Tester makes it easy for you to know your actual rating.
Follow Proper Call Compliance
All outbound dialers must comply with federal and industry regulations. Failing to adhere to regulations could lead to expensive penalties and fines. It can also tarnish your reputation with analytics engines, making it more difficult to connect with customers. Eventually, you will lose revenue because you don’t comply.
Keep in mind that regulations vary by industry.
Monitor Your Caller ID Integrity
Do you know what consumers see on their caller ID screens when you call them?
Subscribe to Device Cloud to get real screenshots from devices connected to popular service providers. That’s one of the most effective ways to manage your number reputation.
Remediate Negative Call Behavior
Negative call behavior can get unwanted attention from AEs and apps designed to protect consumers from scam calls. Remediate any negative call behaviors so your numbers don’t get blocked or flagged.
Important steps to take include:
- Training agents to follow industry guidelines
- Having managers review calls to ensure that agents use empathy when talking to customers
- Ensuring that new numbers haven’t already been flagged
Additionally, some types of dialing software could cause problems for your outreach campaigns.
Redress Flags on Phone Numbers
If your phone numbers receive flags or negative labels, your customers will get caller ID notifications that tell them to avoid your calls. You can contact the carrier to resolve the issue. Unfortunately, that can take a lot of time and energy. Caller ID Reputation’s Number Redress & Remediation service features professionals who can resolve any issues quickly, allowing you to reconnect with your customers.
Call traceback efforts play a critical role in preventing robocalls, but regulators and industry leaders still have a long way to go before they eliminate troublesome calls. Until that happens, it’s important to monitor the reputations of your outbound phone numbers. Contact Caller ID Reputation to learn more about how we can help.
