FAQs - Call Guardian Service Provided by TNS

Effective June 30, 2021, service providers, such as Chariton Valley, are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to participate in an industry wide initiative to restore trust in our voice communications. Chariton Valley is working to protect consumers against fraud and abuse in the form of robocalling by initiating a call authentication program.

Why the Need for a Call Authentication Program?

At present, telemarketing calls and robocalls are the main source of complaints by consumers to the FCC. Three to five billion robocalls are made monthly with research suggesting more than 40% as potentially fraudulent. Over the past ten years, these robocalls have progressed into a significant problem for consumers in regard to the inconvenience and costs associated with them.

Safeguarding consumers against scams is a top government priority, which was exhibited by the passing of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act on December 30, 2019. The law includes several provisions, one of which is the requirement of service providers to participate by having authentication protocols in place by June 30, 2021.

Call Guardian Service Provided by TNS

Chariton Valley has been actively targeting unlawful robocalls and other forms of telecommunication fraud. We are successfully incorporating additional specifications to our existing practices for landline phone customers. This enhanced technology applies the most robust call authentication framework possible and is aptly named Call Guardian, a service provided by Transaction Network Services.

This service is an industry leading call analytics solution that uses cross-carrier real-time call events combined with collective data to create accurate and comprehensive profiles. It generates these reputation profiles to determine authentic users of voice services from fraudulent users by recognizing robocalls, distinguishing between wanted and unwanted calls, identifying spoofed calls and determining which calls should be blocked. It scores each call on our network and provides access to a regularly updated and growing list of negatively scored phone numbers.

As each call on our network is scored, it is determined if the call will be blocked or allowed to continue. If a call is considered to be fraudulent, the subscriber of the number in which the call originated can dispute the conclusion as unjustified via the Free Caller Registry. Leading data communications companies such as First Orion, Hiya and Transaction Network Services have partnered to streamline the telephone number registration process and this free portal helps entities reach the analytics companies that support carriers in the US, such as Chariton Valley. This is the best option if a subscriber is experiencing flagging with multiple operations or just wants to submit one report that goes to the leading providers. These providers will respond to the submitter with feedback. Here is the link: https://freecallerregistry.com/fcr/.

FAQs

What is a Reputation Score?

The reputation score provides qualitative information about the certainty of the reputation category and the severity of consequences of an associated threat, if any, for a given telephone number.  Reputation Scores are graded on a scale of -4 as the Worst Possible to a 4 which is excellent.  A machine-learning algorithm is used to determine the reputation of call events and telephone numbers. Machine learning is a method used to devise complex models and algorithms that lend themselves to predictive analytics. The analytical models allow data scientists to produce reliable and repeatable decisions while also uncovering hidden insights through learning from historical relationships and trends in the data.

What are the Reputation Categories?

The reputation category is a label assigned to telephone numbers observed to have common call behavior. Reputation score (described in following section) provides insight as to the certainty of this categorization and severity of consequences, if any. The following reputation categories classify the call behavior of hundreds of millions active telephone numbers. Categories indicate legitimate, abusive, fraudulent, and unlawful call behavior – including calls placed with an auto-dialer or manually dialed.

What are the Call Treatment Options?

Call treatment involves the routing of the call in CV’s network based on the reputation score/category and authentication information. At launch calls can be blocked or allowed. Future enhancements will allow for the possibility to have calls redirected and more information can be delivered to the device. The desired call treatment is the basis of the service.

What is the Free Caller Registry?

Leading data communications companies such as  First Orion, Hiya and Transaction Network Services have partnered to streamline the telephone number registration process with major analytics engines. This free portal helps entities reach the analytics companies that support major wireless carriers in the US, such as Chariton Valley.  This site is Free and easy to use, you can learn more at https://freecallerregistry.com/fcr/.

Why Should I Register?

Free Caller Registry enables entities making legitimate outbound phone calls to submit their data once via a standard, centralized experience to the three major providers of call management services supporting the major US wireless carriers. Registration of data establishes a relationship that becomes a key data point for Analytics Engines to provide the best information possible.

How it Works?

Enter your entities information inclusive of contact information and phone numbers. That information is sent directly to each of the three participants. Each Analytics Engine vets the information and directly follow-ups with the registrant.

Chariton Valley will be actively updating our customers on major changes as they take place. This page is your resource for any new updates.