Talkdesk Trusted Calling is a call authentication integration. Before a manual outbound call routes to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Talkdesk sends the call’s information to a supported third-party call authentication provider: First Orion, TNS, or TransUnion. This lets customers use that provider’s call-authentication-based services, such as branded calling with logo and reason for calling, and spoof call protection, on their Talkdesk outbound calls.
Note: Talkdesk does not provide branded calling, spoof protection, or number reputation management. The provider sells, configures, and delivers these services under your own contract with that provider. Trusted Calling supplies only the call authentication those services depend on.
Check your provider contract before enabling Trusted Calling. An existing contract with First Orion, TNS, or TransUnion does not mean it includes services that require call authentication. For example, if you currently pay for branded name display, which does not require call authentication, you will need to amend your contract with the provider before you can add services such as logo display or reason for calling, which do. Contact your provider to confirm which services you want to use require call authentication and whether your contract covers them.
Table of Contents
- Understanding Trusted Calling
- Supported Provider Services
- Key Features
- Use Cases
- Prerequisites
- Resources
Understanding Trusted Calling
Across the industry, legitimate outbound calls increasingly go unanswered because they appear as unknown or unmarked on the recipient's device. Carrier algorithms and mobile handset applications also flag some of these calls as spam or fraud, triggering automatic call blocking, even when the call is fully legitimate.
The STIR/SHAKEN framework (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited / Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information using toKENs) was introduced to combat caller ID spoofing, but it has well-documented limitations in practice. Call authentication providers offer services that address some of these limitations, and many of those services require call authentication to work.
Trusted Calling provides that call authentication for outbound calls in the United States and on select carriers in Canada. Admins connect their account with a supported provider to Talkdesk. When an agent places a manual outbound call from an enabled number, Talkdesk calls the provider’s authentication API and waits up to 500 ms for a response before routing the call. The call routes to its destination whether authentication succeeds or fails. Authentication supports the provider’s services but never blocks the call.
Supported Provider Services
With Trusted Calling enabled, customers can use the following provider services on Talkdesk outbound calls, subject to their provider and contract:
Branded calling: The provider displays branded elements, such as a business name, logo, or reason for calling, on supported recipient devices.
Spoof call protection: The provider detects and blocks calls that spoof the customer’s phone numbers.
Available services, names, and supported devices vary by provider. Contact your provider for details.
Key Features
- Provider selection: Admins choose a supported call authentication provider, First Orion, TNS, or TransUnion, and enter the credentials that the provider requires.
- Non-blocking authentication: Talkdesk waits up to 500 ms for the provider's response, then routes the call regardless of the outcome.
- Numbers: Talkdesk authenticates Talkdesk-native, Bring Your Own Carrier (BYoC), and Verified Caller ID (VCID) phone numbers when outbound calls are placed.
Use Cases
- Improving answer rates: Organizations that place frequent manual outbound calls, such as banks or collections teams, use Trusted Calling to display a verified business name and reduce the chance that recipients ignore the call as spam.
- Reducing spoofing and fraud flags: Organizations affected by number spoofing use Trusted Calling to verify their identity with carriers and reduce false spam or fraud labeling.
- Protecting legitimate outreach: Organizations that lose business because calls are mislabeled use Trusted Calling to restore trust with recipients on manual outbound calls from their Talkdesk numbers.
- Extending an existing provider relationship: Organizations that already work with a supported provider use Trusted Calling to add call-authentication-based services to their Talkdesk outbound calls, after confirming that their contract includes those services.
Prerequisites
- Permissions: Admin role.
- A contract with First Orion, TNS, or TransUnion that includes the call-authentication-based services you want to use, set up directly with that provider, including any business verification the provider requires. A contract covering only services that don’t require call authentication, such as branded name display, is not sufficient.
- Phone numbers configured in the provider’s portal. If the provider has not configured your numbers, its services will not work, even when authentication succeeds.
- Provider-specific credentials, such as an API key and secret key, or an enterprise ID, depending on the provider selected.
- Phone numbers: Phone numbers in the United States and specific carriers in Canada.
Note: This feature applies to manual outbound calls from phone numbers in the United States of America and select carriers in Canada only. For more information, please contact your Talkdesk representative via the Talkdesk Customer Care Portal.
Resources
For instructions on how to use Trusted Calling, please see Talkdesk Trusted Calling: How to Use in this article.