Addressing different types of fraud simultaneously could be a wise move that may help avoid the pitfalls experienced by other countries
Scams cause significant financial and economic damage: On 16 June 2023, ComReg published a consultation on network-based interventions to reduce the harm from scam calls and texts. The regulator has undertaken its first analysis of the impact on consumers, businesses and public bodies of fraudulent communications, which have increased in prevalence over recent years. These practices not only result in financial losses but also reduce trust in the use of telecoms services, thereby undermining the benefits of them. In 2022, ComReg’s research indicates that in Ireland there were:
Around 365,000 cases of scams;
89m annoying/irritating communications and 31m distressing communications; and
Over 5,000 businesses that were the victim of fraud after receiving scam calls and texts.
It has provided a ‘conservative estimate’ of €302m (£258m) per year as the total quantifiable harm to Ireland’s society arising from nuisance communications, with 62% of this figure stemming from scam calls and 38% from scam texts.
ComReg proposes measures to tackle nuisance communications: To combat the problems identified, ComReg is proposing to require operators to implement a number of technical interventions:
Fixed and mobile CLI (Calling Line Identification) Call blocking to stop fraudsters abroad spoofing Irish geographic or mobile numbers to make scam voice calls;
A Protected Number list to stop fraudsters using numbers that are not yet in service or have not yet been allocated to an operator prior to entering service;
A Do-Not-Originate list, which would allow businesses and organisations to secure their numbers by blocking those numbers not used to contact consumers;
A SMS Sender ID Protection Registry, which would allow businesses and organisations to access a specific ID and block those that are not on the register; and
A voice-firewall to block spam calls wherever they arise and protect against more sophisticated scams.
ComReg also considered a SMS Scam Filter, a dynamic measure that can react to prevent future instances of fraud. However, this intervention requires legislative change and ComReg is engaging with the Government about taking this forward.
The interventions could deliver €1.5bn (£1.3bn) worth of benefits: In outlining the proposed interventions, ComReg acknowledged a potential compromise between safeguarding privacy and preventing fraud, but considered the measures proportionate given the severity of the current scams problem. It states that the overall value of the interventions, if implemented, would be equal to €1.5bn (£1.3bn) over the coming seven years, while every Euro spent on the measures would deliver 50x more in benefits to society. ComReg’s proposals would shift greater consumer protection responsibilities on to operators, something certain politicians have accused them of shirking. Still, the regulator’s plan to tackle scam calls and texts in parallel appears sensible, particularly as the US experience suggests that CLI rules introduced to address robocalls may have inadvertently contributed to a spike in the volume of robotexts and a significant rise in the money lost to fraud via this channel.
