Stop spoofing and more protection for users: new rules against phone scams

It is difficult to think that it represents the ultimate solution to the problem. But it is an important step. It needs the cooperation of all network players. Without a systemic response, fraudsters will continue to exploit the cracks in the telephone system, playing on the international routes of VoIP traffic and the inertia of controls.

But there is not only spoofing. Agcom is also intervening to provide clarity on the reserved offers front. Those that arrive by text message, or by phone call, only to certain selected customers. Offers that are always easy to compare with others.

With Agcom's intervention, those offers will have to be described in a transparent manner, accessible online or in shops, with the same level of detail as standard promotions. Another front of the resolution concerns data traffic. Agcom in this case aims to intervene on behalf of all users who have found themselves, without knowing it, with their monthly threshold exceeded and an extra charge in their bill.

Well, when the user reaches 80 per cent of his or her Giga ceiling, he or she will receive a notification. At 100%, the connection will be blocked automatically. And can only be reactivated upon explicit request. No more unwitting slips and suddenly rising costs.

Finally, a measure that stems from the concrete experience of many users suddenly left without a line. When a reseller, an operator reselling retail network services, loses access to the network due to disputes with the provider (the so-called wholesale operator), the user can risk being left in the middle. The new rule stipulates that there must be at least one month's notice, clearly communicated, to allow the customer to switch to another operator. An attempt to ensure continuity of service, where today there is often only abandonment.

"The Authority," commented Agcom chairman Giacomo Lasorella, "is committed to identifying the most advanced solutions to counter aggressive telemarketing practices, of which we are all daily victims. We are counting on the timely and punctual application of the new rules by telephone operators, in line with what was widely discussed at the technical round table".