Ofcom to clamp down on scam calls from abroad

Millions of scam calls from abroad that use spoofed UK landline numbers are to be blocked under a new Ofcom crackdown. 

From Monday, phone companies will have six months to identify and block calls from abroad which falsely display a UK telephone number.

Spoof calls are a common method used by criminals to defraud citizens. 

These calls appear as if they are coming from a UK bank, government department or other authorities. Fraudsters do this as they are likely to be trusted and answered. 

Telecoms firm BT has already prevented up to one million calls per day from entering its network within the first month of implementing these measures on a voluntary basis. Ofcom claims its guidance will ensure this becomes standard practice across the industry. 

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's group director for networks and communications: “Criminals who defraud people by exploiting phone networks cause huge distress and financial harm to their victims.  

“While there’s encouraging signs that scam calls and texts are declining, they remain widespread and we’re keeping our foot to the throttle to find new and innovative ways to tackle the problem.” 

Ofcom research has shown UK landlines users are more likely to receive a scam call, with almost half having received one in the last three months, compared to under 40 per cent of mobile users. However, the landline figure is down from 56 per cent to 45 per cent in 2021.  

Message scamming also declined but remained high, with 55 per cent of UK mobile users having fallen victim to it this year. 

Fussell added: “Under our strengthened industry guidance, millions more scam calls from abroad which use spoofed UK landline numbers will be blocked – with similar plans underway for calls which spoof UK mobile numbers. We’re also challenging the industry and other interested parties to provide evidence on the best solutions to tackle mobile messaging scams”.