Major telecoms operators within the UK have begun collaborating with the government to combat fraud in this notable sector. Their hope is that improving security and traceability across networks will lower instances of scam calls and text messages.
Representatives from BT Group, VMO2, VodafoneThree, along with MVNOs and the government gathered at the BT Tower in London to co-sign a UK telecommunications charter, a commitment from the industry “to tackle fraud head on”.
The operators and government explained they would work together over the next 12 months to develop technology aimed at stopping fraudsters from being able to “spoof” UK phone numbers and essentially pose as companies, banks and government departments.
It builds on an Ofcom initiative unveiled in January, which ordered operators to block all calls from abroad that showed a UK landline number.
Signatories of the charter will work with the regulator to develop a call tracing process to address the challenge of scam and fraudulent calls being received by UK subscribers. They will also look to adopt network features such as VoLTE to improve visibility, establish partnerships and forums to identify shared challenges and engage with partners in other industries.
As part of the effort, AI will be used to detect and disrupt fraud, with a dedicated AI fraud working group to be set up.
Home Office Minister David Hanson said: “In a major upgrade of our mobile networks, call spoofing will be eliminated within a year, stripping away the tools scammers use to cheat people out of their hard-earned cash”.
VMO2 added it already flags 50 million scam calls a month and blocked 1 billion scam messages.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Stock Image