Fraud on the Line: Protecting Constituents and Agencies From Growing Call Threats

Many constituents know the warning: “Government agencies will never call you to ask for money or personal information. Only a scammer will do that.” 

Yet, government agencies do rely on the phone channel to respond to questions, requests for information and other communications with constituents — which is what makes it an attractive channel for scammers. Even so, few protections are in place beyond the stated warning — making the voice channel vulnerable to fraud and impacting legitimate calls and government programs. In fact, in a recent survey, 93% of government agencies reported over 10% of their outbound calls are blocked. 

The good news is agencies can prevent spoofed calls, authenticate and verify inbound callers, and protect constituents from account takeover and identity theft fraud — all which improve the overall call experience.

Understanding the untold costs of impersonation and fraud

Despite the aforementioned warnings, fraudsters thrive in the phone channel. In 2023, the FTC received fraud reports from 2.6 million consumers, with significant increases in reports of government impersonation schemes. Imposter scams resulted in nearly $2.7 billion in reported losses.  These numbers only reflect known cases; many scams go unnoticed or unreported. 

Government impersonations trick people into submitting payments (sometimes in the form of gift cards) or sharing personal information that can fuel identity theft and account takeover. For public agencies, this also means most constituents lack trust to answer legitimate calls. TransUnion reports nearly 90% of calls to customers go unanswered because they don’t know who’s calling.

The phone remains relevant for constituent experiences

The importance of the voice channel for constituent outreach is evident. A recent study found 80% of US consumers said the phone is an important communications channel, especially for personal, complex or urgent issues. Instances where the phone may be a constituent’s preferred mode of communication include when government delivers alerts regarding healthcare services, changes to benefits, disaster relief or important appointments. 

For agencies looking to improve constituent experiences (CX) overall, the same research suggests the phone channel may also be important when discussing complex information, such as tax-related policies, updates or procedures. 
When government agencies can reach constituents in a trusted manner via the phone — faster and with fewer call attempts — care and services can be issued more effectively, and constituent satisfaction and security can be improved.

Proactive measures to secure public communications

Branded calling — where organizations add rich call content to the mobile display like name, logo, number and reason for the call — can provide constituents with the reassurance needed to answer calls. In fact, 73% of consumer survey respondents said they’d be likely to answer calls from enterprises if names and logos were displayed on calls. 

STIR/SHAKEN is a set of call authentication standards providing a secure way to validate caller identity and stop illegal caller ID spoofing. When constituents receive branded calls with STIR/SHAKEN verification, they’re afforded more certainty those calls haven’t been spoofed — and mitigating spoofing attempts improves CX. 

As an added measure, agencies can designate inbound, outbound and bi-directional telephone numbers to register inbound-only numbers as Do-Not-Originate. Monitoring use of agency numbers across the caller ID ecosystem helps protect calling reputation and enables agencies to block spoofed calls from reaching constituents in the first place.

The battle against call spoofing, fraud and robocalls is far from over, but there are promising strategies government agencies can adopt to protect constituents. By implementing advanced technologies like branded calling with STIR/SHAKEN verification and spoofed call protections, agencies can reduce the risk of impersonation scams and help ensure important calls are recognized and answered. 

These steps may not only enhance the security of communications but also improve the overall experience for constituents, making them more likely to engage with important calls. As government agencies incorporate these measures, they can reclaim the phone channel, enhance the delivery of essential services and foster greater public trust.