UK phone companies will block scam calls from abroad that use ‘spoofed’ British numbers to try and con innocent victims
Foreign criminals attempting to scam Britons via spoof numbers will be blocked by phone networks in future.
The calls show up as a UK number on phones but really come from abroad in a technique called ‘number spoofing’.
Scammers use online tools to mask the original number that they are calling from.
The calls show up as a UK number on phones but really come from abroad in a technique called ‘number spoofing’
All phone networks will soon introduce new measures to help stop the calls after pressure from the communications regulator Ofcom.
Research released by the regulator last week revealed three in five people aged 75 and over have received a potential scam call via landline.
More than half of these pensioners said that they get one of these potential scam calls at least once every week.
Research released by the regulator last week revealed three in five people aged 75 and over have received a potential scam call via landline
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Network and Communications Group Director, said: ‘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.
‘We expect these measures to be introduced as a priority, and at pace, to ensure customers are better protected’.
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