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| Roboblock *12 ~ By: Shawn Davis |
Today we found out that Roboblock 12 did not win during the FTC Robo block challenge. So today I am posting the entire contents of the Roboblock 12 submission that you all have been supporting, to see first hand our submission and how it works. Even though we did not win, a lot was accomplished. Thank you all for your support!
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Actual Submission
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Roboblock
*12 by Shawn Davis.
How it
works:
Robo caller is calling a
recipient’s phone....
The call is connected, the recipient
finds out that it is a robocaller, the recipient hangs up and then
dials *12, the system will
repeat the last inbound phone number that called and will ask the
recipient to press 1
if they wish to block the last inbound phone number that recently
called for 120 days or
stay on the line for more options.
If the recipient stays
on the line for more options they will have the chance to remove
previously blocked number(s) as stated below.
How to get
a blocked number unblocked:
In the event a number gets
blocked and wants to request to get unblocked, the blocked number
would call the recipient’s phone number again. The system would
recognize that the number was blocked in the past and gives the
blocked number an option to send an automated request to the
recipient to have the blocked number removed from the block list.
(Once every 30 days).
If the blocked caller
tries to go through the re-verification with in the 30 day
time frame, the system will announce to the blocked caller that “the
recipient party has denied their request to be unblocked and they may
try another request in 30 days”.(Note:
The system will not tell the blocked user when the 30 day block date
has started or ends – it will be up to the blocked caller to make
good judgment of when the 30 days have been exhausted to retry the
re-verification attempt.)
The
unblock process example:
Greeting: Welcome to the
unblock verification system:
Para continuar este mensaje
en español por favor presione dos ahora.
If 2 is
selected then the system will speak the verification process in en
español.
“The caller you are trying
to call has blocked your phone number in the past. To notify the
recipient party that you wish to have your phone number removed off
their block list please verify your existence:
After the tone
please state your First and Last name. The blocked user states their
first and last name. (This also helps verify the caller is human)
Thank you; please confirm the phone number you wish to have
unblocked." The blocked user dials the phone number they
wish to have unblocked, the system confirms the information submitted
by restating the blocked users First and Last name as well as the
phone number provided.
“If satisfied please press
1 now” Once 1 is pressed the automated system
requests the user to enter a randomly generated number to
verify existence (i.e. 7192) [This also helps verify the blocked
caller is human], if the random numbers are verified the system
tells the requested block caller a short disclaimer as example:
"Thank you for using the verification system, we will
make an attempt to contact the user via automated message to request
on your behalf that you request to have your phone number (repeats
the number provided by the blocked user) to be unblocked, please take
note that if the user wishes to continue to block your number you
will not be able to contact this user for the duration of the block
time which can be up to 120 days or until the recipient
removes your number [System restates phone number provided by the
blocked caller] from their block list. A response can take
several days. If there is no response, your number may remain on the
callers block list until the duration of the block list time or until
the recipient has removed your number off the block list. Thank you
for using our verification process; Good bye."
(The call
ends and then the blocked caller must wait for the end user to accept
or reject their unblock request, there is no time limit on this, if
the recipient does not select an option during the automated unblock
request, the end user must manually remove if off their list by
pressing *12 at the dial tone and wait for the options to
remove previously blocked numbers, or manually input a previously
blocked number).
What happens next?
If
the blocked number completes the verification script, the system will
automatically generate a automated system call to the recipient
notifying the recipient of the blocked callers First and Last name
"as stated" as well as the phone number "as stated",
the recipient can select 1 to unblock now, or press 2
to continue to block and to prevent this number for retrying the
automated unblock verification system for 30 days. (After the
30 days the blocked user may attempt to request their number
to be unblocked and must go through the re-verification system by
dialing the recipient’s phone number again.)
If this is a voice mail message please hang up and press *12 to
continue the unblock process manually, if you do not respond to this
automated message the system will continue to block this callers
number for the duration of the blocked time frame which is up to 120
days or until you manually remove it from your block list by
dialing *12.
If the automated message goes to voice mail the same above message will be stated.
If option 1 is
selected the system will provide an option to connect the end user
and the unblocked number right away (possible connect fees involved).
The recipient can pick up the
phone and wait for a dial tone then press *12 to
remove the last phone number(s) off the block list for easy removal.
The system will provide a list of 5 recently blocked phone numbers to
the recipient’s phone number, and then the recipient can select 1-5
for the phone number they wish to remove. If the number is not listed
the user can press option 6 to manually enter in the phone
number with area code they wish to remove.
A confirmation will be stated
then the recipient can hang up.
Example:
Recipient
dials *12 and waits for the system to announce the last 5
phone numbers that were recently blocked.
To unblock 555-555-5555,
press 1 now.
To unblock 444-444-4444, press 2
now.
To unblock 333-333-3333, press 3 now.
To unblock
222-222-2222, press 4 now.
To unblock 111-111-1111, press 5
now.
To manually unblock a number press 6 now. "Please
enter the phone number with area code you wish to remove and press
pound # when finished".
To delete
all phone numbers on your block list press 7 now.
To
manually add a phone number to your blocked list press 8 now.
"Please enter the phone number with area code you wish to
remove and press pound # when finished".
To
change system language press 9 now.
To hear this message
again press 0 now.
If the number they are seeking is
not listed:
If the phone number is not listed [even if it
is and the recipient happen to miss it] please press 6 now
to manually enter a phone number you wish to remove from your block
list.
The user presses 6 and dials a phone number with area
code that is or is not on the block list, the system will prompt the
recipient that the number has been removed from their block list and
they are free to hang up or press 2 for more options [If 2
is pressed the system redirects the recipient back to the list of 5
recently blocked numbers or option 6 to manually
input a phone number - if the recipient was successful in removing a
phone number off their blocked list that was in the 5 most recent
numbers, the system will just update with the most recent phone
numbers.]
If the user manually inputs a phone number that is
not on the blocked list, the system will respond with a message
saying the phone number entered was not found in the blocked list and
to please try again.
The block list will be
purged if the user changes or disconnects their phone number:
This means if the end user
has a list of blocked numbers and they change their number, their
block list will not continue to their new phone number, the user must
start creating a new block list.
Technical
notes:
The phone numbers added to the block list
should be stored in a .txt or similar file format to keep for
duration of 120 days [to reduce file size and maintenance
operations], or until the end user removes it. The system will
purge all phone numbers on the recipients blocked list that have met
the 120 day block time frame, the system will still keep the
phone numbers that have not met the 120 day blocked time frame
until the recipient removes those phone numbers off their blocked
list.
There will be no limit to how many phone numbers can be
on the recipients blocked list.
The system will allow ease of
changing language; in the *12 menu the
system will provide users to press (9) to change the language
for the system and will save the language selection by the user.
[Also stored in .txt - English & Spanish supported –
more languages could be added if needed for international]
For callers with
disabilities: there are calling services already available to
them, such as for the blind, etc...
In the event a user gets a
new phone number that is on someone’s block list they have other
methods to get unblocked: The built in unblock verification system
(every 30 days), or wait the 120 days for the system to
automatically purge their number off the recipients blocked list. If
they know the person they are trying to get a hold of they have many
other methods of getting their number unblocked example: Email,
Text, In person, Call from a different number, Social media websites,
etc..
Is it easy to use?
(Layman's terms :) The system is easy to use, all the
recipient has to do to block a number is press *12.
The system has 2 block methods: 1 for number to number (120
days) and 2 for the automated unblock verification request
(30 days). If a user has added a number to the block
list (120 days) the user on the block list can only try
the unblock request verification (Once every 30 days)
if the blocked caller tries to go through the re-verification with in
the 30 day time frame, the system will announce to the blocked
caller:
“The recipient party has denied their request to be
unblocked and they may try another request in 30
days.”
(The system will not tell the blocked user
when the 30 day block date has started or ends – it will be up to
the blocked caller to make good judgment of when the 30 days have
been exhausted to retry the re-verification attempt.)
The
callers on the block list will not be able to contact the recipient
who has added the caller’s phone number to their block list until
the 120 Days have been met or the recipient removes the
blocked caller’s phone number from their block list. If the
recipient has pressed #2 during the automated unblock
verification request, the caller will not be able to retry the
re-verification system for 30 days, or until the recipient has
removed their number off the block list.
The
system will be created to use ANI and ANI-II and not CPN.
ANI:
*A ten digit number that
identifies the actual phone line the call is being routed
through.
ANI-II:
*A two digit number used to
identify what type of phone line you are calling from (i.e. cell,
landline, payphone run by the phone company, payphone run by
shopkeeper, prison phone, hotel phone, operator service for disabled,
ANI-II failure, etc.)
CPN:
*Called Party
Number.
*Descriptions provided from:
https://encyclopediadramatica.se/Caller_ID_Spoofing
Why
we can't make the blocked numbers permanent?
Due
to people changing phone numbers the system
should not permanently block these numbers.Does
it work for Mobile and VoIP phones?
We
already use such features like *67 and
*69 for mobile
phones, so this would be just as easy to use for this service without
the need for a "extra app" for mobile lines.VoIP
users: most VoIP providers offer *69
features so this would work just as the
same.Here are websites
that show you VoIP providers who allow their recipients to use *69
features and more. http://www.comparedandreviewed.com/voip-services
(Shows the major VoIP
providers)http://www.voip-catalog.com/voip_services_call-return-(*69)_1.html
(Shows other VoIP providers)
If my idea is rolled out the VoIP
companies who do
not support
such features as *69 and *12 would be missing out, in my own opinion
this would give the current VoIP companies who offer features like
*69 an advantage over their competition which would more than likely
make the VoIP companies who do not offer *star services, scrambling
to allow such *star features for their users.
Is it easy to roll out?
Yes! Our phone systems already use services like *69, *66,
*67, *82, Voicemail and more, it would roll out just like these have
been in the past.
Why did we choose 120 days for the block
list and 30 days for re-verification?We selected 120
days; this should give us a good time frame for robocallers
to stop attempting to call the recipients for a great amount of
time.
We selected 30 days; this allows a real
user to request to be removed from a recipients block list in case of
accidental blocking or a user happens to obtain a block phone number
already on a recipient’s block list.
Will it block
important phone numbers such as 911, Government or other reserved
phone numbers?
No the system will reserve
these numbers not to be blocked, even if the end user tries to
manually block the reserved phones numbers. "If the end user
tries to block these reserved numbers they will hear a statement:
'The system cannot block this number, please try again.' If the
recipient gets a call from a reserved number, and the recipient tries
to press *12 on the last caller to block it, the
system will not allow the recipient to block that number and they
will hear the same statement as above 'The system cannot block this
number, please try again.' The system would be built based off ANI
& ANI-II so caller ID spoofing will not work even if a
robo caller tries to use a reserved number for spoofing."
What
if the caller uses *67, *77?
*67 (Selective
blocking) or *77 (Anonymous Call rejection) –
nothing will change, the system will still tell callers that the
recipient is subscribed to (*77 – Anonymous
Call rejection) and they must dial *82 (Caller ID
Unblocking) before dialing the number again.
If the recipient
does not subscribe to (*77 or their carrier does not offer
Anonymous Call Rejection) and there is a blocked number
calling a recipient.
Since the system is built using ANI the
anonymous callers can still be blocked, when the recipient dials *12
the system will state: “The last inbound number is anonymous, the
system can still block this number; Do you want to block this number?
Press 1 for yes or 2
for no.”
(Note:
the system will not repeat the number back to the
recipient to protect privacy.) The system will put these anonymous
numbers in a separate section of the .txt (or other format) blocked
list file labeled (Anonymous) When the consumer
hears the last 5 numbers on the blocked list (when trying to
unblock), the system will not state Anonymous
numbers, they will be skipped (Only non-anonymous numbers will be
stated).
There are ways stated in this document for blocked
callers to be removed off a blocked list –
Unblock verification, use
a different number, purge blocked list, etc...
Note:
If the consumers can activate Anonymous Call Rejection they will be
able to hear all numbers on their blocked list.
Extra
feature:
The roboblock *12 system would record the numbers that
have been blocked multiple times (25 or more in 24hours) in a
separate .txt (or similar) format. This will allow the FTC to still
go after the robo callers that still try to call on a regular basis.
This will allow easier tracking for the FTC, easier prosecution and
continue to reduce the complaints from consumers, while still
completing a mission: ending robo calls.
This same list can also
be used to create a universal block list, this means if the number
was verified as a continuous robo caller the system will store it in
this universal blocked list and prevent any calls from this number
without the consumers having to use the *12 system. If the
number is added on the universal blocked list they will not
have an option to retry the automated unblock request (every
30days).
Conclusion:
Roboblock *12 is easy to
manage, easy to use. The consumer will not need to purchase any
additional equipment making the rollout easy and effective for
everyone. We already use these same services, *67, *77, *82, *69,
Voicemail, so the consumers are already use to such systems. This
system will still allow the FTC to go after robocallers who try to
work around the system, reducing consumer complaints and over all
hurt the pockets of the robo callers marketing. Roboblock *12 was
created with ideas we already have in place, it’s just the bridge
in between those services we already use.
Thank you for taking the
time out to read my submission.
Copyright
Free/Public Domain images provided by:
http://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/
Thank
you for your consideration: - Shawn
Davis & Chelsie Lahti.
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