Wild telemarketing, from Tuesday stop calls with Italian numbers: here's what changes (and what doesn't)

First step to curb unwanted calls that arrive at every hour of the day, aggressive telemarketing. As of Tuesday 19 August, in fact, the blocking of commercial calls from abroad that use fake Italian numbers to deceive citizens will be triggered. This is recalled by Assoutenti, which points out, however, that the novelty will only affect calls from fixed numbers. "From Tuesday 19 August the new anti-spoofing filters imposed by the Communications Authority on telephone operators will become operative," explains president Gabriele Melluso.

Melluso explains that 'Cli Spoofing, an acronym for Calling Line Identification Spoofing, is a technique that allows callers to disguise their telephone number: the caller uses software that allows him or her to change his or her Caller ID, making a number appear that is different from the real one. The recipient of the call sees this bogus number appear, unaware that it is a counterfeit identity, and is then tricked into answering the phone. A technique used by illegal operators and call centres to propose financial investments but also energy supply contracts through telemarketing'.

Specifically, with a resolution published on 19 May, Agcom approved the regulation containing provisions to protect end users with regard to transparency in the offer of electronic communications services and the presentation of the calling number, writes Assoutenti. The resolution envisages, for national operators receiving calls delivered by foreign operators, the obligation to block calls to Italian fixed numbers and calls to Italian mobile numbers in Italy, unless the user is actually roaming abroad. These measures will be implemented in two steps: the first, on 19 August, will concern only the blocking of calls from abroad with Italian fixed network caller numbers; the second, on 19 November, will concern the blocking of calls with Italian mobile network caller numbers. For those who do not comply, fines of up to €1 million.

"The new rules on telemarketing that will come into effect next 19 August will not stop the phenomenon of commercial phone calls," notes Codacons, sceptical about the real effectiveness of the measures introduced by Agcom. "The telemarketing sector generates a €3 billion annual turnover in Italy, with 2,035 active call centres and almost 80,000 employees," the consumers' association emphasises. "Alongside the legal operators, however, there is an underground number of call centres located abroad that operate in total anarchy, violating the sector's regulations and citizens' privacy. To the point that, despite the 32 million users registered to date in the Public Opposition Register, every Italian receives an average of five to eight commercial calls every week, bringing the total number of unwanted calls registered in our country in a year to about 15 billion. Contacts that, if before were aimed at proposing contracts for telephone supplies or electricity and gas, now also promote financial or bitcoin investments, with the risk of causing consumers to lose large sums of money,' concludes Codacons.