UK telcos step up their anti-scam measures

Until now, phone companies have been required to block callers from abroad that falsely use a UK number as the 'network number', which identifies to the receiving network where the call originates from.

From now on, phone companies have agreed to also block calls that falsely display what's known as the 'presentation number', which identifies to the recipient who is calling. It is hoped that this will reduce the efficacy of foreign scammers that pose as UK banks, payment providers and the like in an effort to convince victims to share sensitive information.

This is more challenging though, because there are some legitimate reasons why someone might receive a call from abroad that purports to be from a UK company. The obvious example is when companies outsource their customer service to an overseas call centre. They still want their customers to know that the call is from a UK company, so they will often use their company name as the caller ID even when the call originates from abroad.

Under Ofcom's newly-strengthened guidance, operators can only connect overseas calls with a UK presentation number if they meet 'legitimate use' criteria. It doesn't specify exactly how that works in practice – perhaps it will involve whitelisting trusted foreign network numbers or something.

The guidelines currently apply to UK landlines, but there are plans underway to extend them to mobile numbers too.

To accompany the new rules, Ofcom published research revealing that 48% of UK landline users have received a suspicious call in the last three months, down from 56% in 2021. For mobile users also reported a decline – from 45% to 39%. Over the same period, incidences of suspicious text messages fell to 56% from 74%.

"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," said Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's group director for networks and communications.

Indeed, Ofcom has also launched a call for inputs to help it get to grips with mobile messaging scams.

Meanwhile, in timely fashion, EE – which recently launched a service to protect customers, called Scam Guard – has just published research of its own that found two thirds of UK adults have received a dodgy call or text this year.

Its survey also found that 51% of Brits feel anxious when they receive a call from a number they don't recognise. In addition, one in three people have been scammed or know someone who has, and 41% said the scam was tailored to them.

Scam Guard is powered by Hiya, a network-level monitoring specialist that partnered with EE's parent BT in early 2023. For £1 per month, its so-called 'adaptive AI system' will analyse a call in real time to detect and notify the customer of anything suspicious. It also sends alerts if personal information including bank cards and login credentials appear on the dark Web.

To bring further attention to Scam Guard, EE has teamed up with actress and TV presenter Denise Welch, who recently revealed she lost thousands of pounds when she fell victim a few years ago to phone fraudsters posing as her bank.

"I can't believe how easy it was to be scammed, and by something that seemed so believable, particularly as the caller ID on my phone confirmed it was a call from my bank," she said. "It was such an awful feeling; my privacy was completely infringed, and I truly felt there was a target on my back."

Scammers are a tenacious bunch, so vigilance is still the first and probably best line of defence. Nonetheless, a helping hand from regulators and operators is always welcome.