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Ofcom Overseas Scam Calls Measures Overview:
- Who: UK communications regulator, Ofcom is set to introduce new measures to help alleviate millions of scam calls targeting residents in the UK by foreign scammers.
- Why: Ofcom says 45 million scam calls and texts were placed over the summer.
- Where: Foreign originating scam calls are being placed to consumers across the UK.
Ofcom is asking phone providers to help crack down on an influx of scam calls coming into the UK from overseas.
The communications regulator is set to introduce new measures that include having service providers block foreign calls from numbers that have been adjusted to resemble UK numbers, reports The Guardian.
Ofcom is also tinkering with the idea of requiring customers to show their ID before being able to purchase multiple sim cards — something which allows fraudsters to send texts that seek to victimize consumers.
“We’ve been working with telecoms companies to implement technical solutions, including blocking at source suspicious international calls that are masked by a UK number,” Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s networks and communications group director, told The Guardian.
Ofcom Says UK Consumers Targeted By 45M Scam Calls, Texts
Ofcom revealed last week that 45 million scam calls and texts were placed over the summer targeting consumers in the UK, reports The Guardian.
The regulator also has expressed concern with the rise of phone scams targeting the elderly, with around 60 percent of those 75 or older reporting they have received a suspicious call within the past three months.
Teenagers, meanwhile, are most at risk of being the target of text scams, Ofcom says.
Rocio Concha, director of advocacy and policy at consumer group Which?, told The Guardian the new measures were “encouraging.”
“It is encouraging to see Ofcom and the telecoms industry working together to develop solutions, which should make it harder for fraudsters to exploit systemic weaknesses to reach potential victims,” Concha told The Guardian. “It is important that companies implement the new measures as soon as possible, in order to prevent yet more scams and ensure that consumers are protected.”
Earlier this month, BT Telecom attempted to appeal a class action lawsuit filed against it after a 2017 Ofcom investigation revealed the company had been overcharging its landline customers.
Have you been on the receiving end of a scam call? Let us know in the comments!
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