Arrangement for managing voice over IP (VoIP) telephone calls, especially unsolicited or unwanted calls

A computer program product including a computer-readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform a method for permitting a call recipient user to participate in management of voice over internet protocol calls received from a calling device, the method comprising:

• enabling the call recipient user to receive a voice over internet protocol call from the calling device;
• accepting an input from the call recipient user indicating that the voice over internet protocol call constitutes a spam over internet telephony;
• reducing a trust rating to provide a reduced trust rating associated with a certificate bound to the calling device, in response to the input;
• and
• sending subsequent call requests from the calling device including the reduced trust rating, so that the subsequent call requests having the reduced trust rating are subjected to a call screening in accordance with the reduced trust rating if the reduced trust rating reaches a trust rating cutoff point of a next trust rating category.

A method of managing trust ratings that are associated with certificates of calling devices in a voice over internet protocol communications system, the method comprising:

• automatically accumulating complaints concerning voice over internet protocol calls initiated from each of the calling devices;
• comparing respective quantities of accumulated complaints associated with each of the calling devices;
• when a quantity of accumulated complaints associated with a given calling device of the calling devices exceeds a given threshold, reducing a trust rating of the given calling device to provide a reduced trust rating;
• and
• in subsequent voice over internet protocol call requests made by the given calling device, including the reduced trust rating so that the subsequent call requests having the reduced trust rating are subject to a call screening in accordance with the reduced trust rating if the reduced trust rating reaches a trust rating cutoff point of a next trust rating category.