Caller ID Spoofing Verification via Intermediary Directory
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Caller ID spoofing, particularly neighbor spoofing, allows scammers to disguise their phone numbers to appear local, tricking users into answering suspicious calls, which can lead to phone scams.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based communication platform provides a verification service that checks the authenticity of incoming communications by querying a call placement service directory and confirming with the associated communication provider whether the device identifier matches the client device that transmitted the communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If Caller ID spoofing is used to disguise phone numbers, then the anonymity of the caller is improved, but the reliability of communication verification deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a call placement service directory as an intermediary between the caller and callee. This directory stores verified device identifier to communication provider mappings, allowing the system to verify caller identity without exposing the caller's actual number to the callee. The intermediary resolves the contradiction by enabling anonymity while maintaining verification reliability through third-party validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by querying the call placement service directory to verify whether the device identifier in the incoming call matches the registered information. This feedback mechanism confirms caller identity authenticity, preventing spoofed calls while maintaining caller anonymity through the verification process.
2Reliability
If verification services query communication providers to confirm device identifiers, then the reliability of call authentication is improved, but the complexity of the communication system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The call placement service directory performs preliminary actions by pre-storing verified mappings between device identifiers and communication providers before actual calls occur. This advance preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time verification during calls, reducing system complexity while maintaining high authentication reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the essential verification information (device identifier to communication provider mapping) in the call placement service directory. This copy allows rapid verification without requiring direct real-time communication with the original communication provider during each call, simplifying the verification process while maintaining reliability.
3Ease of operation
If spoofed calls are allowed to reach users, then the ease of operation for receiving calls is improved, but the harmful effects from scams increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by blocking spoofed calls before they reach the user. The verification service queries the call placement service directory to determine if the caller's device identifier is authentic, and prevents delivery of calls with mismatched or spoofed identifiers, eliminating scam risk while allowing legitimate calls to proceed normally.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for verifying an incoming communication. A recipient client device receives an incoming communication including an identifier identifying a second client device as having initiated the incoming communication. A verification service installed on the recipient client device queries a call placement service directory based on the first identifier. The call placement service directory maintains a listing of identifiers for client devices and corresponding communication providers that manage the identifiers. The call placement service directory returns information identifying the communication provider that manages the identifier. In turn, the verification service transmitting a request to the communication provider to confirm whether the second client device initiated the incoming communication. The verification service processes the incoming communication based on the response from the communication provider indicating whether the second client device initiated the incoming communication.