Against wild telemarketing comes the short number: here's how it works

A move against invasive phone calls. Three digits to identify yourself. And know with certainty who is on the other end of the phone. A new move by the Agcom against the invasive, savage and sometimes even fraudulent telemarketing that punctuates the days of most telephone users with improbable 'must-have offers, just say yes'.

The Authority has put out for consultation a proposal to assign a three-digit number to all legal operators also for outgoing calls and messages, so that it can be immediately understood whether the caller is really the company and not a suspect call centre. Also because short numbers are not replicable from abroad.

The trial started on 17 December and will last 45 days before becoming operational.

Agcom's initiative follows the one implemented in November to filter commercial calls from fake Italian mobile numbers, which succeeded in blocking 7.5 million calls per day in the first phase, and which followed the one introduced last 19 August, when Agcom had put into operation a first anti-spoofing block relating to fake Italian fixed numbers.

Satisfied but cautious consumers. 'Possible step forward, although there are many pitfalls,' says Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers' Union. 'It is certainly an improvement over the jungle of numbers currently used. It remains to be seen whether it is also progress with respect to the use of the same single prefix for all, 0844, unfortunately not made mandatory by Law no. 5/2018 and, therefore, never applied," Dona continues. "Numerous stakes should be put in place. For example, that the 3-digit number used by a company should always be the same and dedicated exclusively to telemarketing and teleselling, in order to prevent the consumer from interpreting the call also as an assistance service. We will in any case analyse the Authority's proposal in detail and make our appropriate evaluations, hoping that the timeframe for the entry into force of the new rules will be short," concludes Dona. 'This is a long-awaited measure that Codacons has repeatedly called for, which can make life easier for citizens,' the association explains. Codacons points out, however, that the phenomenon of aggressive telemarketing is still far from being resolved: after the anti-spoofing blockade triggered last 19 November, commercial calls have not ceased but have moved from fake Italian numbers to foreign numbers. In recent weeks there has in fact been an abnormal increase in the number of calls received by citizens from numbers with foreign dialling codes, used for call centre activities,' the association concludes.