Tired of getting spam calls? Here's why you may never be rid of them

Spam calls — or "scam calls" as they're also known — have become an infuriating part of life. By now, most people are well acquainted with fraudsters trying to dupe you out of your cash by impersonating government officials or Amazon employees. 

"I'm still getting a lot of spam calls," said Pradeep Selvaraj, an IT professional in Whitby, Ont., who has posted about the issue on his YouTube channel.

Salvaraj estimates he receives two to three calls a week from scammers — often while at work. They claim they're from the "CRA, RCMP, duct cleaning, Amazon, UPS shipping and the list goes on," he said. "It's very annoying."

Many people had high hopes such calls would stop when, in late 2021, the CRTC, Canada's telecom regulator, introduced new technology called STIR/SHAKEN. It lets telecoms detect and flag calls that use spoofed or altered phone numbers to disguise their true identity.

But STIR/SHAKEN was never meant to be more than a partial solution and, some 18 months later, has yet to be entirely implemented. Those are some of the reasons scam calls aren't going away anytime soon. 

"To be honest, it's a global problem. … there's no silver bullet," said Alain Garneau, the CRTC's director of telecommunications enforcement. "But with all the initiatives that we bring forward, I think we're capable … to reduce the number of these spam calls."

The CRTC mandated that telecom companies start using STIR/SHAKEN in November 2021. "STIR/SHAKEN will undoubtedly reduce spoofing and help Canadians regain peace of mind when answering phone calls," said then-CRTC chair Ian Scott. 

But the technology isn't foolproof. It doesn't actually block calls, but instead, flags them as "likely fraud" or "likely spam." It's up to you to decide whether to pick up. 

Also, it only works on calls made — from end to end — on upgraded phone networks that use internet-based systems. Phone companies are still upgrading their networks to these systems. So, at this point, the alerts come through on some calls and not on others. 

"STIR/SHAKEN will become more effective over time," as phone companies upgrade their systems, CRTC spokesperson Valérie Lavallée said in an email. 

She was not able to say what percentage of calls are currently covered by STIR/SHAKEN. 

CBC News asked the three major telecoms for data. 

Rogers didn't provide numbers, but said most calls on its network are internet-based.

Bell said in an email that the number of calls on its network that STIR/SHAKEN can screen is "increasing constantly over time." Telus did not respond.