New telemarketing rules are in effect: starting today, calls from abroad using fake Italian numbers will be blocked, according to new rules issued by the Italian Telecommunications Authority. The AGCOM resolution requires national operators receiving calls from foreign operators to block calls from Italian landlines and mobile phones in Italy, unless the user is actually roaming abroad.
Will there be no more "unsolicited phone calls" at all hours of the day and night, for example, to change electricity supplier? It seems like wishful thinking. At least according to Italian consumer associations. The new rules won't stop the phenomenon of commercial calls, states Codacons categorically, skeptical of the actual effectiveness of the measures introduced by Agcom.
The telemarketing sector generates a turnover of €3 billion annually in Italy, with 2,035 active call centers and nearly 80,000 employees, according to Codacons. Alongside these legal operators, however, there is a slew of call centers located abroad that operate in complete anarchy, violating industry regulations and citizens' privacy. So much so that, despite the 32 million users currently registered in the Public Registry of Opposition, each Italian receives an average of five to eight commercial calls each week, bringing the total number of unwanted calls recorded in our country annually to approximately 15 billion.
But the block will only affect fake Italian landline numbers, while fake mobile numbers will continue to reach users at least until November . The second phase will begin on November 19th: "The same mechanism will be extended to international calls displaying an Italian mobile number," says Adiconsum. "In practice, this also closes the window most exploited in recent months by spam and telephone phishing networks."
But even then, it will still be possible to spoof numbers when calling from Italy, and the ban will not extend to commercial calls using foreign prefixes. Finally, we must consider the countermeasures that will be adopted by illegal call centers, which use increasingly sophisticated technologies to circumvent blocks and bans and target users.
Assoutenti explains: "The recipient of the call sees this fake number appear, unaware that it's a fake identity, and is therefore tricked into answering the phone. This technique is used by illegal operators and call centers to sell financial investments and even energy supply contracts through telemarketing."
Giuliano Frau, regional president of ADOC, doesn't hide his skepticism about a measure that "will serve almost no purpose." According to the association's representative, "the only solution would be heavy fines. And not just a few pennies compared to the companies' billion-dollar revenues. Otherwise, the calls will continue undisturbed."
(Unioneonline)