New technology will eliminate call spoofing ‘within a year’ – minister

Mobile networks including BT EE, VodafoneThree and Virgin Media O2 are to block foreign call centres from impersonating banks in a crackdown to eliminate call spoofing “within a year”.

New call tracing technology will “hunt down” scammers and victims will receive faster support, the Home Office said.

The agreement between the Government and industry will see a raft of measures to safeguard the UK’s mobile network from fraud.

The increased protection will involve identifying the provider that connects the call to the customer and asking who they got the call from, with the process continuing “upstream” until the source of the call is identified, the Home Office said.

Victims will also see swifter support from phone networks, with help times to be cut to two weeks.

Scam calls and texts are a daily frustration for many, with criminals based abroad often impersonating trusted organisations like banks and government departments to deceive people to steal money or personal information.

Britain’s biggest mobile networks have committed to upgrade their network within the next year to eliminate the ability for foreign call centres to spoof UK numbers.

Figures suggest that 96% of mobile users decide whether to answer a call based on the number displayed on their screen, with three-quarters unlikely to pick up if it is an unknown international number.

Advanced call tracing technology will also be rolled out across mobile networks to give police the intelligence to track down scammers operating across the country and dismantle their operations.

AI will also be deployed to identify and block suspicious calls and texts, halting scammers before they can reach users’ mobiles.

Minister for Fraud, Lord Hanson, said: “Spoofed calls allow scammers to deceive the public with fake identities and false promises. This Government is committed to tackling fraud.

“In a major upgrade of our mobile network, call spoofing will be eliminated within a year – stripping away the tools scammers use to cheat people out of their hard-earned cash.

“We’re stepping up our defences to protect victims and make sure the UK is the hardest place in the world for scammers to operate.”

The measures form part of the new Telecoms Charter, which brings together government and mobile networks to crack down on scam calls.

Signatories include BT EE, Virgin Media O2, VodafoneThree, Tesco Mobile, Talk Talk, Sky and Comms Council UK (CCUK).

The pact follows recent action by the UK Government, in partnership with the US, to disrupt major online fraud networks with targeted sanctions on scam centres in south-east Asia.

Brian Webb, chairman of the Communications Crime Strategy Group, said: “Fraud is a threat to us all. And so we must all act to tackle it.

“As the voice of crime and security for the telecommunications sector, the Communications Crime Strategy Group are glad to play our part.

“Through the actions we’ve agreed in this Charter, the telecoms sector will make the UK a harder target for fraudsters, and a safer place for the public.

“The actions that we have committed to will deliver real change – from expanding trusted data sharing and enhancing call security, to using artificial intelligence responsibly, and supporting victims with compassion and speed.

“Together, these commitments form a promise: that the telecoms industry will play its full part in tackling the fraud epidemic that the UK faces.”