The system implemented byAGCOM (Communications Regulatory Authority) is producing concrete effects: almost 10 million spam and fraudulent calls are intercepted and rejected every day which simulate Italian mobile numbers despite coming from abroad. This result is the result of the technical adaptation of Italian telephone operators to second AGCOM antispoofing filterwhich went into effect on November 19, designed to recognize and stop calls using spoofed national prefixes. By spoofing we mean the illegal practice with which a person alters the identification of the calling number (the so-called CLI or Calling Line Identification) to pose as a reliable or local contact. The measure has drastically reduced misleading proposals relating to fictitious investments or suspicious offers on electricity and gas, without however interfering with the legitimate calls of Italian users in roaming, i.e. temporarily connected to foreign networks. In the event that you continue to receive unwanted phone calls, you can take advantage of some tools that allow you to further mitigate the problem, which we will tell you about later.
How the filter works: legitimate calls vs. illegitimate calls
The blocking mechanism introduced by AGCOM focuses on calls that pretend to be Italian but are not: this allows us to target a significant part of the telephone spam phenomenon, without however eliminating it completely. If you continue to receive harassing phone calls from foreign numbers, it is very likely that these are generated by operating call centers really abroad and therefore do not fall within the technical perimeter in which the filter operates. To also block the numbers that actually contact you from abroad, if you are not used to regularly receiving international calls, you can evaluate preventive solutions such as blocking of foreign numbers through your operator, a request that can usually be activated through your operator’s app or through customer support (but which is not offered by all providers), or by intervening directly from the telephone with specific numeric strings on the keypad (e.g. with Vodafone Italy you have to use the code *331*1234# while with WINDTRE you have to use the code *331*2121#). Other providers, such as TIM And Iliaddo not provide codes with which to block calls, so contact customer care to find out what to do and to resolve any doubts.
They also exist applications that promise to identify spambut to work they require access to the address book and calls, with the risk that some data will be used improperly (and, for this reason, we do not recommend using similar applications, no matter how popular they are).
In any case, a I distinguish between illegal practices and authorized telemarketing. Legitimate Italian call centers can continue to contact you for real offers, unless you have registered in the public register of objections, a tool that revokes consent to telephone marketing except for those granted subsequently or linked to continuous contracts. The registration must be renewed periodically, since new consents can also be issued unconsciously, for example through loyalty programs.
How to block spam calls if the AGCOM filter doesn’t work
However, when you receive calls from non-existent Italian numbers, recognizable by the fact that they cannot be called back, you are faced with spoofing actions which are prohibited by law. In these cases it is possible proceed with a formal report through the online form available on this page. Here’s how you can use it.
- After logging in to the page Reporting of unwanted phone callsclick on the button Enter with SPIDto log in with the SPID or Enter with CIEto log in with your Electronic Identity Card.
- Once logged in, you agree to accept the privacy policyprovide your e-mail address or your PEC address in the fields Email/PEC And Confirm Email/PEC and click on After you.
- Complete the sections completely B) Telephone number of the reporting party, C) Type of phone calls received And D) Details of individual phone calls receivedby answering the questions posed to you and clicking Next to navigate between the various sections and then follow the instructions on the screen to send your report to the Guarantor for the protection of personal data.
Once the form has been sent, the report is taken into account for the appropriate checks.
