In today’s world, call trust is critical for businesses that rely on call centers to connect with customers for sales, service, and support. Yet, in recent years, consumers’ trust in phone calls has declined significantly. The telephone – once a reliable and personal method of communication – has become a source of frustration for many. With the rise of robocalls, spam calls, and call fraud, many consumers choose not to answer the phone at all these days. This erosion of call trust poses significant challenges for businesses and call centers seeking to reach customers, resolve issues, and build relationships.

Restoring call trust requires businesses to adopt multiple solutions for combating fraud and increasing transparency. By deploying superior call trust technologies, businesses can improve answer rates, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance their overall reputation.

What Is Call Trust?

Call trust is when phone call recipients feel sure that a call is real and is coming from a trusted source. It means they believe the call is safe, the caller’s identity is confirmed, and the reason for the call is honest. For businesses, building call trust means making sure their calls aren’t marked as spam or ignored because customers don’t trust them.

Why Call Trust Matters

Call trust is critical for businesses with call centers. When customers don’t trust calls, they may hesitate to answer the phone, leading to missed opportunities, reduced customer satisfaction, and lower revenue. A lack of trust can also damage a company’s reputation if customers suspect fraudulent activity.

The Problem of Declining Call Trust

The trust that consumers once had in phone calls has been undermined by the rise of robocalls, spam calls, and caller ID spoofing. Aggressive salespeople and fraudulent actors posing as legitimate businesses or government agencies have inundated phone lines, often using deception to extract sensitive information or scam victims out of money. According to a recent study, billions of spam calls are made annually, and these intrusive tactics have left consumers wary of answering calls from unknown or unverified numbers.

The problem is compounded by the fact that legitimate businesses often get caught in the crossfire. When spam filters and call-blocking apps misidentify genuine calls as spam, it becomes even harder for businesses to connect with their customers. This unintended consequence has eroded trust not just in fraudulent calls but in the phone call as a communication channel overall. As a result, roughly 9 out of 10 outbound calls from businesses to their customers are not being answered, leading to reduced customer satisfaction and missed opportunities for engagement.

The Threats to Call Trust

In recent years, consumers’ trust in phone calls has been steadily eroded by a number of threats, annoyances, and concerns.

  • Robocalls Robocalls are automated calls that deliver pre-recorded messages, often without the recipient's consent. These calls can range from harmless advertisements to malicious scams, but their sheer frequency has made them a nuisance, frustrating customers and eroding trust in phone communication.

  • Spam Calls Spam calls are unsolicited calls that bombard recipients’ phone lines, often at inconvenient times. This overload of unwanted calls can lead people to stop answering their phones altogether, even when legitimate businesses are trying to reach them.

  • Caller ID Spoofing Caller ID spoofing is the fraudulent practice of manipulating caller ID to display a fake or misleading number, often mimicking legitimate businesses or organizations. This tactic makes it nearly impossible for customers to know if a call is genuine, undermining their confidence in phone interactions.

  • Mislabeled Calls Even legitimate business calls can be mistakenly flagged by carriers or call-blocking apps, potentially displaying messages like Possible Spam or Scam Likely on caller ID. When customers see a phone number flagged as spam or fraud, they are understandably less likely to answer, leading to missed opportunities for engagement and damaged trust in the business.

  • Lack of Transparency Many calls lack clear information about the caller's identity or the purpose of the communication. This ambiguity can leave recipients feeling uneasy, making them hesitant to answer or engage in the conversation.

  • Privacy Concerns Customers are increasingly cautious about sharing personal or sensitive information over the phone. If they cannot verify that the caller is legitimate, they may avoid the call entirely, hindering effective communication.

  • Call Fraud Fraudulent calls are designed to deceive recipients into revealing private information or transferring money. These deceptive practices not only harm individuals but also weaken trust in phone calls as a reliable form of communication.

Steps for Restoring Call Trust

Businesses may adopt a variety of solutions to rebuild trust with audiences and consumers.

  1. Branded Caller ID Branded caller ID is a feature that allows businesses to display their name, logo, and even the purpose of the call on the recipient's phone screen. Instead of just showing a random or unfamiliar number, branded caller ID provides immediate transparency, helping customers recognize who is calling and why. This reduces skepticism, since recipients are more likely to trust and answer a call when they see clear information about where it’s coming from. For businesses, branded caller ID enhances credibility, improves answer rates, and fosters better customer relationships by making communication more transparent.

  2. Reputation Management Tools Phone number reputation management tools monitor and maintain the status of a business’s phone numbers to ensure they are not mislabeled as spam or flagged by carriers and call-blocking apps. These tools track call activity, analyze patterns, and alert businesses to potential issues that could harm their reputation, such as high call volumes or frequent unanswered calls. By addressing these problems and ensuring their numbers are correctly registered and verified, businesses can avoid being mistaken for spam callers. This improves call trust by reassuring customers that calls from the business are legitimate and worth answering, ultimately improving the effectiveness of communication.

  3. Anti-Spoofing Technology Anti-spoofing solutions are designed to detect and prevent caller ID spoofing, a tactic where fraudsters manipulate the caller ID to appear as a trusted number. This technology works by analyzing the call's origin and verifying its legitimacy using advanced algorithms and authentication protocols like STIR/SHAKEN. By identifying and blocking spoofed calls, it helps ensure that only genuine calls reach the recipient. For consumers, this creates a sense of security and trust, as they are less likely to receive fraudulent or deceptive calls. For businesses, anti-spoofing technology protects their brand from being impersonated. It also improves the likelihood that customers will answer their calls and strengthens the overall trust in phone communications.

Benefits of Call Trust for Call Centers

Businesses can realize several essential benefits by improving call trust with customers.

  • Increased Answer Rates When customers trust the call and know who is calling, they are more likely to pick up. This means your business has a better chance to talk to them, solve their problems, or share important information.

  • Improved Customer Experience Trust makes customers feel safe and less worried about scams, so they are more willing to have a conversation. This helps your business communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships.

  • Enhanced Reputation Showing customers that your calls are safe and honest helps your business look reliable. Over time, this builds a better reputation and makes people more likely to trust and do business with you.

  • Reduced Fraud Risks Verifying your calls helps stop scammers from posing as agents of your business. This keeps your customers safe from fraud and protects your company’s reputation.

Comprehensive Call Trust Solutions from SecureLogix

SecureLogix offers a complete solution for call trust, security, and authentication. Combining proven technology and the industry’s most skilled team of telephony experts, our solutions protect your business and your customers from a broad range of threats while systematically improving trust in your phone calls.

Our outbound call trust solutions provide a multilayered approach to restoring trust with your audiences.

SecureLogix® Contact™ Call Branding Service

Contact™ Call Branding Service is a centralized, secure call branding solution that increases call answer rates across all major service providers by making it possible to enhance call displays with your full corporate name and logo, trust verifications, the reason for the call, and other rich call display data. Contact™ Call Branding Service increases answer rates by 30% on average and offers broad coverage across 95% of wireless devices.

SecureLogix® TrueCall™ Spoofing Protection Service

TrueCall™ Spoofing Protection Service identifies and blocks fraudsters from using your corporate calling numbers to impersonate your brand by spoofing calls. With TrueCall™, only your legitimate outbound calls pass through a carrier network-level spoofing protection filter, preventing outsiders from illegitimately using your calling numbers. This network API-integrated filtering service is the industry’s strongest and most secure approach to spoofing prevention.

SecureLogix® Reputation Defense™ Call Number Management Service

Reputation Defense™ Call Number Management Service helps remove incorrect labels from phone numbers marked as spam or fraud. This SecureLogix solution cleans and restores the positive reputation of your existing numbers while monitoring your corporate calling numbers on an ongoing basis to maintain a healthy status.

SecureLogix also provides additional solutions for call security, managed call security, and call center authentication.

FAQ

What is call trust, and why is it important for businesses?

Call trust is the confidence customers have that an incoming call is from a genuine and reliable source. It’s important because it ensures customers feel safe answering calls, which improves communication, builds stronger relationships, and helps prevent business calls from being ignored or flagged as spam.

What are the main threats to call trust?

The biggest threats include robocalls, spam calls, caller ID spoofing, fraudulent calls, and calls being mislabeled as spam. These issues make customers reluctant to answer calls, even from legitimate businesses, which hurts both trust and engagement.

Why do some calls get erroneously marked as spam?

Calls may be flagged as spam due to outdated number registration, frequent calling patterns, or lack of verification with telecom providers. Regularly updating your number information and using verified caller services can help prevent this.

What is phone number management?

Phone number management is the process of organizing, monitoring, and maintaining a business’s phone numbers to ensure they are functioning effectively and are not flagged as spam or misused. This includes tasks like registering phone numbers with carriers, ensuring compliance with industry standards, monitoring call activity, and addressing issues such as incorrect spam labeling or fraud risks.

Additional Reading