Identity theft scams have increased in recent years. To stem this scourge and within the framework of the Naegelen law, operators will be able to establish a system to prevent the usurpation of 10-digit telephone numbers.
In recent years, spoofing has become a popular scam. For newbies, spoofing appears like fake bank advisor fraud. The principle is in the title, the hackers try to pass themselves off as their target’s banking advisor, with the aim of recover access credentials to the victim’s bank accounts.
Very often, scammers use fake emails or SMS messages to contact targeted users. And to put all the chances on their side, pirates make sure to reproduce the logos and the graphic charter of your banking establishment, the idea being to not arouse any suspicion in you. While certain third-party solutions against spoofing have already been developed by companies specializing in IT security, the government has also taken up the problem.
The telephone banking anti-fraud system is approaching
Through the Naegelen law, the text which banned cold calling on weekends and public holidays, the executive has provided a special provision against spoofing. Originally planned for entry into force in 2022, this measure was slightly delayed, the fault of the complexity of its implementation.
But what exactly is it about? To summarize, this system plans to impose on operators the establishment of a system for authenticate calls made with 10-digit numbers. The idea being, as you will have understood, to prevent identity theft and telephone fraud with fake bank advisors. To do this, Free, Bouygues and others must check on the calling and called side that the numbers match to the numbering plan of Arcep, the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority. In the event of an irregularity detected, the communication is cut off automatically.
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According to statements in the columns of Le Parisien by Romain Bonenfant, general director of the French Telecoms Federation, the system should come into operation from fall 2024. For this French solution, the organization used the American technical protocol called Stir/Shaken and the FFT is currently deploying it among 200 operators available on the French market.
However, the framework is lucid and reminds us that this system alone will not be able to prevent all cases of identity theft. “This solution put in place by telecom operators will not, as if by magic, solve everything. We need cooperation from all links in the chain: banks, operators and users,” recognizes the boss of the FFT.