Blunting Robocalls using Caller-ID and Customer-Originated-Trace (COT)

Most consumers are aware of the Caller-Id “feature” in the telephone network, but many of these same consumers are not aware of the technology behind this feature. They are aware that this feature allows the presentation of the caller’s phone number (and possibly name) on a telephone device before the called party answers the phone. But they are not aware of the details behind this number delivery. They are also not aware that this feature can be the basis of tracking robocallers. This paper highlights how the basic Caller-Id feature can be supplemented with another already-available feature called Customer-Originated-Trace (COT) to report malicious and unwanted calls, including robocalls.