Stopping Illegal Robocalls Where They Start

What is RRAPTOR?

RRAPTOR is an automated robocall surveillance system. Thousands of telephone numbers are assigned to the platform. RRAPTOR sits patiently and waits for calls. When the phone rings, the RRAPTOR robot answers and interacts with the caller (usually a robocaller robot, but sometimes a person). RRAPTOR records the conversation and transcribes what the caller said. If a telecom provider signed the call using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol, RRAPTOR captures that signature as well.

RRAPTOR receives thousands of calls daily. Keywords and other simple metrics allow RRAPTOR to separate calls that are likely being made to many thousands or millions of others (often referred to as robocalls) from those that are wrong numbers or callbacks (where a robocaller spoofed one of our numbers, so the recipient of that call is calling us, inferring that we placed the original call).

RRAPTOR Objectives & Target Audience

RRAPTOR is conceived as an automated, scalable tool that can keep pace with the constantly changing robocall landscape. Because a large fraction of those calls are signed, RRAPTOR can identify the providers that are accepting payment to facilitate them. This data, along with the underlying detail, allows:

  • Service providers to see with specificity potentially suspect calls that are passing through their network. Call details from RRAPTOR enable them to investigate and act swiftly to mitigate where appropriate. As a general rule, providers want to protect their reputation by ensuring that they sign only compliant calls. Some may only wish to sign calls that are likely wanted by the preponderance of recipients.
  • Service providers to be aware of calls passing through OTHER providers’ networks. As appropriate, providers can engage (or disengage) with other providers directly to mitigate.
  • Service providers and their analytics engines to derive signer reputation information from RRAPTOR. That can then be incorporated into decision-making regarding call treatment.
  • Private enterprises (banks, hotels, retailers, etc.) to become aware of potential misuse of their brands and trademarks. They can appropriate warn their customers and can reach out to signers to mitigate as appropriate.
  • Regulators and enforcers to identify potential non-compliant calling, and to adjust their investigative efforts accordingly.
  • Consumer advocates and the press to be aware, in near real time, of the constantly changing robocalling landscape, including new calling categories (campaigns & tactics) as they surface, and the providers that persist or emerge as facilitators. This allows them to provide guidance to their audiences to best protect from scams and annoyances.

Navigating RRAPTOR

RRAPTOR stores the call data it gathers in a database. As a RRAPTOR visitor, you can access tools that let you explore the database in various ways:

  • PROVIDER summaries show which providers are signing calls
  • CATEGORY summaries show which categories are being matched by the transcripts
  • You can see a PROVIDER summary for all calls or just a particular category
  • You can see a CATEGORY summary for all calls or just a particular provider
  • Summaries show call count totals and by attestation level, and counts of unique Caller-IDs (ANIs) and called numbers
  • DRILL-DOWN views show the individual calls associated with the counts in the summaries. For each call, it displays the date, first digits of called and calling number, attestation level (if signed), transcript and category. You can also click to hear the audio.
  • DATE FILTER allows you to narrow the reporting window to a particular period of time.
  • CATEGORY FILTER allows you to view just those categories containing the letters you specify.

The following are some sample RRAPTOR views and hints for navigation.

Initially, you’ll see the CATEGORY summary; this one shows ALL providers:

Here’s a summary for one provider:

Now, we can DRILL DOWN on any of the RED numbers to see details on those calls:

The LISTEN link at the right lets you listen to the complete audio for that call.

You can reset to the original display (with your DATE filters applied) by clicking RRAPTOR at the top.

The specific views available to you may vary from what is shown above, depending on the type of access you’ve been granted.

Comments

Because RRAPTOR data is viewable by many, providers may want to volunteer clarifying comments regarding any of the calls or results attributable to them. We are adding a comments facility to let you share your thoughts.

Free and Paid Subscription Services

ZipDX shares RRAPTOR data with facilitating providers to give them the opportunity to adjust their mitigation practices if appropriate. At no charge, providers can get access to summary data for calls that they have signed, and limited details for a few recent calls.* Free automated alerts let a provider know that RRAPTOR has detected something on their network (a suspect call or a signature defect) that probably deserves investigation. Paid services allow providers to see full details of the captured calls and have access to category and provider summaries. Similarly, entities with interest in specific brands and other keywords can subscribe for pertinent alerts and call details. Other categories of subscribers, focused on serving the public interest, pay lower rates or have fees waived.

Interested? Have questions?

For a limited time ZipDX is offering 14-day free trial accounts to allow organizations to evaluate RRAPTOR. The trial account does not require the use of a credit card. Click here to apply.

Once the trial period has ended, a paid subscription is $2,500 per month or $20,000 per year. A LITE subscription, for $1,800/month or $15,000/year, gives full access to calls signed by the subscriber but excludes access to data associated with other signers. Providers interested in the FREE version can request that at the link above. Trials that do not opt to pay for a subscription will convert to FREE access.

If you have further questions please contact sales@zipdx.com.

* Specifically, the FREE version displays redacted call details for the oldest 5 calls within the past 30 days (but you can sign up for instant daily notifications even beyond the 5). If RRAPTOR is only capturing a very small number of your calls, this is a great service for you. Signers of larger numbers of suspect calls will benefit from a paid subscription.