Phone companies in the U.K. will have to find ways to identify and block fraudulent calls, according to U.K. communications regulator Ofcom. The new rules will protect people from scammers using fake phone numbers. 75 percent of people have received suspicious calls and text messages in the past three months, Ofcom said.
Under the new rules, Ofcom will require all phone networks to identify and block fraudulent calls where technically feasible, phone companies should ensure that numbers conform to the UK’s 10- or 11-digit format and that they should block “whitelisted” calls from Ofcom, as well as Caller ID calls from abroad that spoof the UK should also be blocked.
TalkTalk has voluntarily implemented these new rules and says it has observed a 65% reduction in the number of customer complaints about fraudulent calls. Other non-compliant phone companies will have six months to make the necessary changes, and these rules will be implemented from May 2023. Unfortunately, Ofcom has not yet provided details on fines to be imposed on companies that fail to implement the new guidelines.
