The Real Reason: Caller ID Spoofing, Not Canadian Callers

The number on your screen says Canada, but the call almost certainly didn't start there. Caller ID spoofing is the engine behind the surge — scammers falsify the display to mimic government agencies, police departments, and local numbers. The CRTC reports that 40% of unwanted call complaints it receives relate specifically to spoofing, and more than a dozen federal departments have been impersonated in these schemes.

Truecaller's data reinforces the point: 87.5% of spam calls to Americans originate or appear to originate domestically, and among foreign sources, India (49.61%) and Nigeria (35.65%) dominate — Canada does not appear on the list of top foreign spam origins at all. That gap between what your screen shows and where the traffic actually comes from is the spoofing problem in a nutshell.

• Scammers choose +1 Canadian numbers because they look familiar to US recipients and bypass some international filters
• Spoofed calls can display as government agencies, banks, or local exchanges
• The CRTC has documented CRA scams alone defrauding Canadians of over $16.7 million since 2014

Regulators are responding with a layered defense. Canada mandated STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication by September 30, 2020, and the CRTC approved Bell Canada's permanent AI-based network call blocking in 2021 — a system that analyzes all voice traffic, flags anomalies, and blocks related calls at the network level. The FCC and CRTC formalized cross-border cooperation with an MOU signed June 6, 2022 specifically to combat illegal robocalls, with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel calling it "an international problem."

For legitimate businesses, the collateral damage is real: 86% of unknown calls go unanswered, and Bell's AI blocking affected transiting calls — 38% of blocked calls were neither originating from nor terminating on Bell's networks. My AI Call Center runs managed outbound campaigns on approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists only, with AI disclosure on every call, keyword opt-outs honored immediately, and DNC requests respected across all campaigns — because consent-based calling is the only sustainable path through a channel where trust has been spoiled.

How Scammers Exploit the +1 Country Code

The +1 country code is a scammer's favorite disguise. Because Canada and the United States share the same dialing prefix, a spoofed Canadian number looks domestic to American carriers and recipients alike — sidestepping international call filters that might otherwise flag or block the traffic. This visual familiarity drives higher answer rates; people trust a local-looking area code.

Spoofing is the engine behind the illusion. The CRTC reports that 40% of unwanted call complaints it receives relate specifically to caller ID spoofing, with scammers impersonating more than a dozen federal government departments. Truecaller data reinforces the point: 87.5% of spam calls to Americans originate or appear to originate domestically, and Canada does not appear among the top foreign spam origins — India (49.61%) and Nigeria (35.65%) dominate that list. In short, many "Canadian" calls are not Canadian at all.

• Shared +1 code makes spoofed numbers appear domestic to US carriers and recipients
• Domestic appearance bypasses international call filtering and blocking rules
• Familiar area codes increase answer rates by exploiting local trust
• Spoofed government and brand identities add false legitimacy
• Cross-border enforcement gaps let bad actors rotate numbers quickly

Regulators have responded with a layered defense. Canada mandated STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication by September 30, 2020, and the CRTC approved Bell Canada's permanent AI-based network blocking system in 2021 — a system that analyzed all voice traffic and found 38% of blocked calls were transiting calls neither originating nor terminating on Bell's network. The FCC and CRTC formalized cross-border cooperation with a June 2022 MOU targeting illegal robocalls, acknowledging the problem is international in scope.

For legitimate businesses, this environment creates a trust crisis. With 86% of unknown calls going unanswered, even compliant callers struggle to reach customers. My AI Call Center addresses this by running managed outbound campaigns only against approved, permissioned, or reviewed contact lists — never indiscriminate cold calling. Every campaign includes AI disclosure on each call, keyword opt-outs (STOP and REVOKE), and DNC requests honored across all campaigns and carried into client DNC records. The result: structured, compliant calling that confirms, qualifies, reminds, surveys, retains, and connects — without adding to the noise.

The Regulatory Response: Canada's Layered Defense

Canada isn't sitting back and letting spoofers win. Over the past several years, regulators and carriers have built what the CRTC itself calls a layered approach — combining caller ID authentication, network-level blocking, and cross-border enforcement into a coordinated defense.

The first layer is STIR/SHAKEN, a caller ID authentication standard that makes it much harder to falsify a number in transit. The CRTC mandated implementation by September 30, 2020, and even before the deadline, CRTC Chair Ian Scott and FCC Chair Ajit Pai completed a cross-border demonstration call using the technology in December 2019. Regulators are candid about its limits, though — officials acknowledge it won't eliminate scam calls on its own, describing it as one more tool in the fight.

The second layer is active network blocking. In 2021, the CRTC approved Bell Canada's move from a 90-day trial to a permanent AI-based call-blocking system that analyzes all voice traffic on Bell's networks, flags anomalies, verifies them through human review, and blocks fraudulent calls at the network level. Notably, 38% of the calls it blocked were transiting calls — traffic neither originating from nor terminating on Bell's own networks. That's meaningful for legitimate callers, because it shows automated systems are making judgment calls about traffic that simply passes through.

The third layer is international cooperation. On June 6, 2022, the FCC and CRTC signed a memorandum of understanding specifically targeting illegal robocalls, with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel calling robocall scams "an international problem." The CRTC also maintains MOUs with the US FTC, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and collaborates on enforcement with the FBI and RCMP.

What this layered defense looks like in practice:

• STIR/SHAKEN authentication verifies that a displayed number hasn't been spoofed in transit
• Carrier-level AI blocking stops flagged traffic before it reaches your phone
• Cross-border MOUs let regulators trace and pursue bad actors across jurisdictions
• Escalating penalties — up to $10,000,000 per violation for a business under CASL — raise the cost of non-compliance

And enforcement is intensifying. The CRTC now states there is a "heightened expectation of compliance" and intends to take stronger enforcement measures when appropriate. During its December 2025 "Maple Disruption" operation alone, it coordinated more than 3,000 disruptive actions, including blocking malicious phone numbers.

There's a downside buried in all this protection: legitimate businesses get caught in the net. When AI systems block transiting calls and 86% of unknown calls go unanswered, even lawful, wanted calls struggle to connect. This is exactly why compliance-first calling matters more than ever. At My AI Call Center, every campaign runs against approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists, with AI disclosure on every call and opt-outs honored immediately — because in a regulatory environment this strict, list quality and consent records aren't optional extras. They're the difference between reaching your customers and being filtered out with the scammers.

Why Legitimate Business Calls Get Caught in the Crossfire

Here's the uncomfortable truth for every honest business with a phone number: the anti-spam defenses don't know you're one of the good ones. When Hiya's State of the Call research shows that 86% of unknown calls go unanswered, that silence includes your appointment reminders, your renewal calls, and your follow-ups to people who asked to hear from you.

The trust crisis runs deeper than consumer habit. Carriers now block calls at the network level before a phone ever rings. When the CRTC approved Bell Canada's permanent AI-based call-blocking system, the decision noted that 38% of blocked calls were transiting calls — traffic neither starting nor ending on Bell's own network. Automated systems flagging "anomalies" can't easily distinguish a scammer from a legitimate business running a high-volume campaign.

Meanwhile, spoofing keeps poisoning the well. With 40% of unwanted call complaints to the CRTC tied to falsified caller ID, every unanswered call teaches consumers to trust the channel a little less. Hiya reports that 1 in 3 consumers have now encountered deepfake calls, raising the stakes of picking up at all.

Legitimate callers are collateral damage in a war they didn't start. The businesses that survive this environment share a common profile:

• They call only approved, permissioned, or reviewed contact lists — never bought lists with no consent trail.
• They disclose AI involvement on every call and honor opt-outs immediately.
• They run calls inside approved windows, with one clear goal per campaign.
• They log DNC requests and carry them across every future campaign.

This isn't just etiquette — it's deliverability. Regulators have made the stakes explicit. The CRTC now warns of a "heightened expectation of compliance," with maximum penalties reaching $10,000,000 per violation for a business. On the US side, AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, meaning prior express consent isn't optional — it's the entry ticket.

The contrast with compliant markets is telling. The FTC reports unwanted call complaints down roughly 48% since FY 2021, with 258.5 million active DNC registrations. Regulation works when callers work with it.

This is why consent-based calling has shifted from best practice to survival strategy. At My AI Call Center, every campaign starts with a list and consent review before a single dial — source checked, permission records verified, calling windows confirmed. If a list can't support the campaign, we say so before you spend anything.

In a channel where 86% of unknown calls die unanswered, permission is the only reliable path to a answered phone. The businesses still getting through aren't louder — they're the ones whose contacts actually want the call.

What This Means for Your Outbound Campaigns

Regulators on both sides of the border are done asking nicely. The CRTC now states there is a "heightened expectation of compliance" under CASL — with maximum penalties reaching $10,000,000 per violation for a business. For any organization running outbound campaigns, that language changes the math on every dial.

The enforcement environment is layered and coordinated. The FCC and CRTC signed a formal MOU in June 2022 specifically to combat illegal robocalls, and the CRTC maintains similar agreements with regulators in the US, UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. A sloppy campaign no longer risks a single complaint — it risks cross-border scrutiny.

At the same time, the trust environment punishes even legitimate callers. Hiya's State of the Call report finds that 86% of unknown calls now go unanswered, and one in three consumers report receiving deepfake calls. Carriers are also filtering aggressively: when the CRTC approved Bell Canada's permanent AI-based network blocking, the decision noted that 38% of blocked calls were merely transiting the network — meaning legitimate traffic gets caught in the net too.

So what does a compliant campaign actually require in this environment? Four non-negotiables:

• Verified consent records — documented proof of permission for every contact, checked before a single call is placed, not reconstructed after a complaint arrives.
• AI disclosure on every call — recipients must be able to ask whether the call is AI-assisted, request a human, or opt out at any point.
• Keyword opt-outs — honoring commands like STOP and REVOKE immediately, with every opt-out logged.
• DNC synchronization — do-not-call requests carried across all campaigns and into client DNC records, so one opt-out protects the contact everywhere.

The stakes justify the discipline. The US experience shows regulation works when it's enforced: the FTC reports 258.5 million active DNC registrations and unwanted call complaints down roughly 48% from FY 2021. Canada's framework is moving the same direction, and the CRTC has made clear that 75% of its investigations begin with reports from Canadians themselves — your recipients are the enforcement trigger.

This is why My AI Call Center treats list and consent review as a gate, not a formality. Every campaign runs against approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists only, with list source and consent records checked before launch — and bought lists without clear permission records are flagged and usually declined. If a list won't support the campaign, you hear that plainly before you spend anything.

The practical takeaway: audit your consent records, confirm your disclosure and opt-out handling, and verify your DNC logs sync across every campaign. Campaign requirements vary by location, industry, and contact type, so get appropriate legal guidance before launch. In a market where unknown calls go unanswered by default, compliance is no longer just legal protection — it's the price of getting your calls answered at all.