AI robocalls: Why caller ID is still lying to you

If you feel like your phone has turned into a scam megaphone, you’re not alone . Robocalls have been a problem for years. Artificial intelligence (AI) is making them slicker, faster, and harder to spot. A new investigation by Transaction Network Services (TNS) shows that while the big telecom players have stepped up caller ID authentication, many smaller providers are still lagging behind. That leaves plenty of room for criminals to keep making spoofed, AI‑voiced robocalls that seem legitimate right up until they empty your bank account. Turning back the clock to 2019, lawmakers in the US passed the TRACED Act with a simple goal: make it harder for scammers to lie about who’s calling. The technical was solution STIR/SHAKEN, a pair of catchily-named standards that let phone networks cryptographically sign calls so downstream providers can check whether the caller ID is trustworthy. On paper, it’s working fairly well for the major carriers. TNS reports that about 85% of voice traffic between Tier 1 networks in 2025 was signed using STIR/SHAKEN, and 93% of those calls received the highest “A” attestation. If the entire ecosystem looked like that, spoofing would become much harder. Why spoofing still works The same report found that most lower‑tier communications service providers—typically smaller or specialist carriers—aren’t even close to that level of protection. On average, they only use the required cryptographic signatures about 20% of the time. That means four out of five calls effectively go through the network “unsigned.” There are reasons for this. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted some providers extensions, particularly very small and satellite providers, as long as they implement other robocall mitigation measures. Even so, the result is uneven implementation. From a scammer’s point of view, this is great. Cybercriminals are already using AI to run increasingly sophisticated and scalable robocall attacks and know that even calls with strong authentication can be spoofed or abused when other parts of the chain are weak. AI voice cloning can be done with just a few seconds of original audio. Combine that with call spoofing and personal information gathered from data breaches, and scammers can make a call appear to come from your bank while using a calm, familiar voice that knows your name or other personal details. Robocalls cost almost nothing to send. Internet calling allows scammers to dial thousands of numbers for a few cents, which is why the volume is so high. Industry estimates suggest US consumers received around 55 billion robocalls in 2025, with projections creeping toward 60 billion in 2026. That’s roughly 160 million spam calls every single day in one country. Globally, that’s about 385 billion spam/robocall calls each year. How to stay safe What can you realistically do as a consumer, given that the network itself is still in transition and attackers are upgrading faster than some carriers? A few habits still go a long way: Be skeptical of urgency. Real organizations rarely need you to make immediate decisions over the phone about payments, credentials, or remote access. Hang up and call back via a number you find on their official website. Treat caller ID as a clue, not proof. Even if the number looks familiar or matches what you see on a card or website, it can be spoofed . Don’t press buttons or follow instructions in automated menus you didn’t expect. Many robocalls use “press 1 to speak to an agent” as the gateway into a full social‑engineering script. Use call‑blocking and screening tools. Your phone, carrier, or security app may already offer options to block known spam numbers, send unknown callers to voicemail, or label suspicious calls. And finally—and this is where we can help— check suspicious numbers with our Scam Number Check before you answer or call back. Scammers know more about you than you think. Malwarebytes Mobile Security protects you from phishing, scam texts, malicious sites, and more. With real-time AI-powered Scam Guard built right in. Download for iOS → Download for Android → About the author Was a Microsoft MVP in consumer security for 12 years running. Can speak four languages. Smells of rich mahogany and leather-bound books.