July 31, 2026
Scam calls: still undefeated
Anti-fraud tools can't keep pace with scammers exploiting cheap internet calling
Experts say scam calls are winning, and commenters are absolutely done picking up
TLDR: Experts say scam-call defenses help but can’t keep up because cheap internet calling lets fraudsters adapt fast, even when calls look legitimate. Commenters are furious, with many saying the real problem is weak enforcement, paywalled protection, and vulnerable older people stuck answering unknown calls.
America’s phone scam nightmare just got a very public reality check: experts on a Washington panel basically admitted there is no magic fix for robocalls, phishing calls, and spam texts. The big reason? Internet calling made it dirt-cheap for criminals to flood people’s phones from anywhere, while anti-scam tools keep playing catch-up. Even the industry’s much-hyped caller ID verification system — the one with the almost comically dramatic name STIR/SHAKEN — was described as never being a silver bullet. Translation: just because a call looks legit doesn’t mean it actually is.
But the real fireworks came from the community, where the mood was less “let’s workshop solutions” and more “why are we still living like this?” One commenter flat-out said they genuinely don’t understand why this is so hard, arguing phone numbers are tightly controlled and scammers only thrive because gatekeepers aren’t forced to shut them out. Another delivered the bleakest modern-life review imaginable: “I no longer can answer my phone” after getting 20 to 40 spam calls a day. That one hit a nerve.
Then came the mini-drama: are better tools the answer, or is this a failure of rules and enforcement? One side praised paid features like T-Mobile’s Scam Shield, while others said that’s basically charging victims extra to escape a mess the phone industry helped create. The darkest twist came from worries about elderly people, who are most at risk but often can’t block unknown numbers because doctors and clinics call from random lines. And yes, the comments even produced a revenge-fantasy policy pitch: a $10 fraud button that records the call and pays victims $100 if it’s confirmed as spam. Honestly? The crowd seemed ready to install it tomorrow.
Key Points
- •Panelists said no single anti-fraud tool can stop phishing, robocalls and spam; they described authentication, traceback, blocking, enforcement and consumer vigilance as complementary measures.
- •Josh Bercu said cheap internet-based calling reduced the physical trust that existed in older wired telecom networks and made it easier for scammers to operate globally.
- •Experts said STIR/SHAKEN was oversold and was never intended to serve as a complete solution to scam calls.
- •Joel Bernstein proposed a 'right-to-use' model using cryptographic tokens tied to vetted individual callers.
- •John Nelson said carriers can analyze network-level call behavior but generally cannot inspect call content, making customer vetting important.