Millions of people will have their phone calls ‘blocked’ by Ofcom during the crackdown

MILLIONS face BLOCKED calls following Ofcom crackdown. Millions more overseas scam calls using spoofed UK landline numbers will be blocked in a new crackdown, the regulator confirmed today.

Phone companies will now have to identify and block calls from overseas that falsely display a UK phone number as a ‘presentation number’. New phone call laws in England will stamp out the tactic used by scammers.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, said: “Criminals who defraud people by exploiting phone networks cause huge suffering and financial harm to their victims. While there are encouraging signs that scam calls and texts are on the decline, they remain widespread and we’re keeping our foot on the accelerator to find new and innovative ways to tackle the problem.

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“Under our strengthened industry guidance, millions more overseas scam calls using spoofed UK landline numbers will be blocked, with similar plans underway for calls spoofing UK mobile numbers” , Ms Fussell continued and said in a statement issued today (Monday July). 29): “We also challenge industry and other stakeholders to provide evidence on the best solutions to combat mobile messaging scams.”

Scammers based abroad often spoof UK numbers, knowing that people are more likely to answer them than if an unknown international number is displayed. Ofcom said the evidence suggested the new blocking measures would have a significant impact on protecting the public from scam calls.

Its current rules do not require operators to block all overseas calls to +447 numbers, to ensure that genuine calls from UK callers roaming abroad are put through. Ofcom’s latest research shows that less than half of UK landline users (48%) said they had received a suspicious call in the past three months, down from 56% in 2021.

Mobile phone users also reported a decrease in receiving suspicious calls, from 45% to 39% over the same period.