Improved protection against telephone number manipulation as from 1 December
Year of issue 2022
Date of issue 2022.11.29
New regulations for improved protection against what is called number spoofing enter into force on 1 December 2022.
"Time and again criminals disguise the true origin of an incoming phone call by displaying a spoofed number on the telephone screen. As from 1 December customers will finally have better protection against number spoofing,"
said Klaus Müller, Bundesnetzagentur President.
Providers of publicly available telecommunications services must now have the technical means in place to ensure that:
- calls will be disconnected that falsely display the emergency call numbers 110 or 112, expensive numbers that begin with (0)900 or (0)137, or numbers for directory enquiry or short code services;
- calls from networks outside of Germany do not display a German telephone number as the caller information. In such cases the caller's number must be hidden. This does not apply to mobile numbers in international roaming.
Identity fraud through number spoofing
Spoofed numbers are used to deceive many consumers with regard to a caller’s identity. Some of these calls have a criminal background.
The vast majority of calls with manipulated caller numbers originate from networks outside of Germany or are routed through foreign networks to Germany. The new technical protective mechanisms aim to provide assurance to a person receiving a call from a German number that it is from the authorised number holder.
More calls from hidden numbers anticipated
As a result of the anonymisation requirement there will be an increase in the number of calls from hidden numbers. It should be borne in mind that not all calls from a hidden number are dubious. Callers can also have legitimate reasons to opt against caller identification. Generally the Bundesnetzagentur advises confirming the identification of callers.