There really needs to be some kind of cryptographic authentication system for text messages and caller ID that gives the recipient absolute certainty about the identity of the sender. Registering a name in this system should require real-world proof of identity including a business address and the contact information of real people. There should be serious financial penalties for identity fraud. It should be an open standard that can be implemented in open source software. And all the big phone manufacturers should be legally compelled to use it.
This will never work as long as calls and SMS messages are routed over the existing telecom networks. The infrastructure is simply too insecure to enable this kind of scheme.
If calls are routed over internet then it becomes more viable but obviously there is still a large coordination problem and misalignment of incentives.
The details differ per country, but either all non-registered senderids will be blocked, or registered senderids will be allowed only from authorized sources. The degree of mandatoriness varies also, in some places its mandatory for telcos to comply, in other places it is some voluntary cooperative scheme.
But despite such details, the problem is clearly not completely intractable.
