Privacy

Aggressive telemarketing, 43 million calls filtered since 19 August

From 19 November, the second clampdown on mobile phone calls begins. For consumer protection associations, 'new measures are needed at source'.

by Davide Madeddu

21 September 2025

2' min read

Key points

Countering unwelcome phone calls
Filters to block foreign calls
Assault drops at weekends
New squeeze from 19 November
Consumer associations on the track
Dedicated caller numbers

2' min read

The crackdown on nuisance calls has worked, even if some knots remain to be unravelled. The first balance of the anti-spoofing measures, provided for in the Agcom regulation, which came into force on 19 August, speaks of 43 million filtered calls, or 1.3 million spoofed calls per day blocked. "A considerable figure," Agcom emphasised in a note, "which represents over the entire period, 5.74% of the total number of calls received by Italians. In an early period, the spoofing rate even touched thresholds of 60%'.

Countering unwelcome phone calls

The aim of the measure is to combat the phenomenon of spoofing that affects telephone calls, 'consisting in the manipulation of the information that carries the identity of the caller, the so-called CLI, in order to prevent its identification and recall (the user displays a number that does not correspond to the person who actually originated the call). This practice is prohibited by Italian law and regulation'.

Filters for blocking foreign calls

A phenomenon that, they point out, 'is currently largely attributable to calls from abroad. For this reason, actions to combat the phenomenon have primarily focused on calls from abroad, introducing 'filters' capable of blocking telephone calls with a clearly altered CLI before they are fed into national networks'.

The onslaught drops at weekends

A reading of the data released by Agcom reveals a reduction in spoofing attempts from the date the blockade was initiated. An analysis of the data also reveals a certain weekly variability of traffic. 'Total call volumes, and consequently also those of blocked calls, decrease dramatically at weekends,' writes Agcom. This fluctuation appears to be consistent with normal traffic patterns, which see a reduction in commercial and telemarketing activities, often the source of fraudulent calls, during non-working days. An even more pronounced drop is recorded during the summer holiday period, in particular during the week of Ferragosto (bank holiday)'.

The new squeeze from 19 November

As of 19 November, the new squeeze is expected to affect calls from the mobile network.

For consumer rights associations, this is an important measure that must 'be followed by other measures'.

Consumer associations on track

"A first result has been obtained and another will be achieved when the November measure on mobile phones comes into action," says Michele Carrus, national president of Federconsumatori, "but this is a first step that must be followed by other measures. One above all, what the association's representative calls a barrier at source.

Dedicated caller numbers

"As is the case with toll-free numbers that have an 800 prefix," he argues, "it would be appropriate for all telemarketing activities to have a number with a dedicated and identifying prefix, precisely so that callers can understand who is calling. Not only that, among the requests that the associations have also sent to the institutions to address the issue is one concerning responsibility. 'Sanctions should be applied both to those who violate them by calling,' he adds, 'and to the principal, in this way there would be a further reduction'. Not forgetting the issue of privacy and consent. "We ask that people, instead of asking for blocking, as is the case today, should only have to give consent when they agree to receive phone calls".