Nuisance Communications
Nuisance Communications – Scam Calls and Text Messages
ComReg is actively working with the telecoms industry to mitigate the scourge of scam texts and calls in Ireland. Since early 2022, ComReg and the telecoms industry have been working together to restore trust in our telecommunications.
Research conducted for ComReg in late 2022 shows that over 90 per cent of adults in Ireland have received a scam call to their mobile phone in the last year, while 84 per cent have received some form of scam text. The harm due to scam calls and texts is not just limited to direct financial fraud, there are also serious impacts upon people’s wellbeing and emotional state.
The Nuisance Communications Industry Taskforce (NCIT), which includes ComReg and representatives of telecoms industry, including fixed and mobile telecoms operators, meets regularly to develop what interventions are needed and how to implement them.
Nuisance communications are not unique to Ireland – it is a global problem and ComReg is engaging and collaborating with other regulators, both within the EU and further afield to develop ways to combat nuisance communications, particularly with those in the anglosphere. This is because, as an English-speaking country, Irish residents are targeted disproportionately compared with their EU counterparts as fraudsters can move seamlessly between other English-speaking countries, focusing their resources on countries where scams are more likely to have the highest success rate. It is inevitable that fraudsters will continue to target and commit more fraud in countries that lack adequate protection and English-speaking countries such as Ireland are likely to experience this the most.
The list of publications below relates to ComReg’s activities to combat nuisance communications:
- IN 23/47 Nuisance Communications: CLI Call Blocking Update. Published 24/05/2023
- IN 23/28R Nuisance Communications: Do Not Originate Service Update. Published 27/03/2023
- IN 23/12 NCIT New Terms of Reference. Published 10/02/2023
- IN 23/01 Nuisance Communications: Scam Calls & Texts – Best Practice Guide for Businesses and Organisations. Published 13/01/2023
- IN 22/114 Nuisance Communications: Fixed CLI Blocking Intervention Arrangements for International Operations. Published 20/12/2022
- Robert Mourik Canada Commissioner Mourik met with regulators from Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and the USA to discuss ways to combat Nuisance Communications and collaboration at an international level. Published 03/11/2022
- IN 22/86 Nuisance Communications – Launch of ‘Do Not Originate’ Protocol. Published 24/10/2022
- IN 22/86a Do Not Originate List – Guidance Note for organisations and Application Form. Published 24/10/2022
- IN 22/77 Nuisance Communications – Update on the Nuisance Communications Industry Taskforce. Published 30/09/2022
- IN 21/129 Nuisance Communications – Formation of the Nuisance Communications Industry Taskforce. 17/12/2021
For up-to-date consumer information on scam calls and texts, please follow the link below:
Scam Calls | Scam Phone Numbers | ComReg | Commission for Communications Regulation
The Department of Energy, Climate and Communications, has published information on scam calls and texts, please follow the link below:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7ee5e-how-to-protect-yourself-against-scams-or-attempted-fraud/
For up to date information from An Garda Síochána on scam calls and texts, please follow the link below:
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) also have very useful information on scam calls and texts, please follow the link below: