UK phone companies will make it harder for scammers to use their networks, under a range of measures proposed by Ofcom today.

Almost 45 million people were targeted by scam calls and texts last summer. Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and nearly a million of these consumers followed the scammers’ instructions, risking financial loss and emotional distress. Ofcom works with phone companies to help them block calls that imitate – or ‘spoof’ – the phone numbers of legitimate organisations, such as banks and Government departments. But fraudsters quickly adapt to changing circumstances and technology. During the pandemic, for example, criminals have been texting fraudulent vaccination links and impersonating delivery companies.

So we have been supporting phone companies and working with other organisations on new ways to combat phone and text scams.

Source: OFCOM