Fraud, nuisance calls will ‘never go away’: CRTC chairman

OTTAWA — Calls are only a part of the problem of nuisance and fraudulent communications in Canada, CRTC chairman Ian Scott told a Parliamentary committee Tuesday, while industry representatives said tackling the issue will require a multi-pronged approach. During a Tuesday appearance at the House industry committee, which is studying fraud calls in Canada, Scott said that texts from fraudsters are a growing issue. “Calls are only part of the problem now. Texts are increasingly a problem, and they’re used very cleverly, frankly, by bad actors,” he said, giving the example of a text saying it’s from a customers’ bank and requires an immediate response. Scott said that data from the U.S. shows that in February 2020, there were 4.8 billion calls placed, and of that, 43 per cent were fraudulent. “That’s the kind of volume of problem that we’re confronting,” he said. Speaking to reporters after his appearance, he said there is no equivalent data for Canada. “We hear about it. Obviously, the reporting centre hears a great deal. Our client services receive a very large volume of calls about this. We receive emails, it’s in the media. I mean, this is not a secret, it’s a problem,” he said. Scott told MPs that “it’s fundamentally a technology problem, and each time we close a door, somebody finds a new opening and comes up with a new approach.” “So this will never go away. It’s about controlling and dealing with the biggest problems,” he said. He said that consumers need to be educated about how to deal with these communications; for instance, to not respond immediately and instead think about why they’re being asked for data. Scott said after his appearance Canadians should also be educated to “find a second route”; for example, calling their local branch after receiving a text purporting to be from their bank. “We need to help Canadians raise their level of, call it suspicion,” he added. Scott also said that telecom companies are motivated to prevent this problem. Scott noted that telecoms have already begun blocking calls with illegitimate IDs, are implementing the STIR/SHAKEN protocol, and have their own initiatives, like BCE Inc.’s proposed artificial-intelligence-based solution, alongside other measures. “The carriers have every incentive to work with us...It’s in their self-interest to solve the problem. They don’t want unhappy customers.” Scott said that applies to the implementation of the STIR/SHAKEN protocol as well. The CRTC has set a deadline of September this year for telecom companies to put the system in place, though the companies have united in asking the CRTC to delay that date. “There’s no reason why the carriers will not endeavour to do it as quickly as they can,” he told reporters. “We’ll work with them…. If extensions are requested, we examine them to figure out whether or not it’s justified. If it’s justified, we might allow it.” During their appearance at the committee, representatives from Bell, Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. were asked about whether that September deadline was realistic. They all said that consumers won’t see much benefit from the system being implemented by that date. “It is doable to get the network equipment done at that time, but a better timetable would give us the sufficient amount of time to actually get the standards correct and get the equipment rolled through,” Howard Slawner, Rogers’ vice-president of regulatory telecommunications said. Jonathan Daniels, Bell’s vice-president of regulatory law, told MPs most phones available today can’t display STIR/SHAKEN. He said that Bell’s proposed AI technology, if approved, would allow the company to identify and block 120 million fraudulent calls a month, in addition to the 220 million calls already not being put through as a result of the CRTC’s order to block non-conforming calls. Daniels noted the three companies work together with other providers, meeting weekly or multiple times a week “to discuss these and other important issues.” Slawner also said methods like STIR/SHAKEN won’t stop unwanted mass calls on their own, but they will provide a basis for other efforts. “Industry must continue to develop new methods of targeting these types of calls,” he said. “Unwanted mass calling is an arms race.” Many of those who appeared in front of the committee, including the RCMP’s assistant commissioner of federal policing criminal operations Eric Slinn, outlined their own experiences with such communications. Slinn said that two weeks ago he received three separate calls in an hour from “fraudsters pretending to be the CRA, advising I was subject to criminal charges and a warrant would be issued for my arrest. This was only on my RCMP-issued cell phone. A lot of fun was had by me that day.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca

Fraud, nuisance calls will ‘never go away’: CRTC chairman

News | March 10, 2020

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Fraud, nuisance calls will ‘never go away’: CRTC chairman

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