From next October 17citizens will have a new way to recognize commercial calls and distinguish them from telephone spam. All companies that carry out commercial campaigns must use nine-digit numbers that begin with prefix +400. The measure will make it easier to identify the origin of these communications and, if necessary, quickly block those numbers that do not comply with the regulations.
He The Ministry for Digital Transformation approved this modification last April. The minister Oscar Lopez has again indicated the date of entry into force during the presentation of the results of the service 017. This free phone number National Cybersecurity Institute offers confidential attention to citizens who have questions related to scams, fraud and deception on the Internet.
Commercial calls cannot be returned
The new identification is part of a set of measures promoted by the Executive to combat scams and fraud carried out through mobile phones. Since the launch of this security program, telecommunications companies have already blocked more than 300 million suspicious calls.
With the entry into force of the new rule, operators must block any telephone sales attempt that does not come from a number headed by that 400. In this way, commercial calls that do not use the established prefix will not be able to reach the user.
Furthermore, these numbers will have a particular characteristic: They will work in only one direction. That is, citizens will be able to receive calls on their cell phones, but they will not be able to return them once the communication has ended.
There will also be controls over SMS messages
The package of measures is not limited to telephone calls. Authorities will also strengthen surveillance of text messages, with a new measure that will begin to be applied next September 15.
From that date on, telephone companies must block any message sent from a name that is not registered in the official database of the company. National Markets and Competition Commission.
The objective of this system is to make it difficult for cybercriminals to impersonate banks, public organizations or other entities to gain the trust of their victims and get them to fall into different types of scams.