New rules to limit calls from call centers come into force

It is in force from today The first part of the new rules adopted to limit promotional calls from call centers. Although some interventions have been made over the years to prevent them, starting with the introduction in 2022 of the "Public Register for Oppositions" which allows users to register to no longer be contacted by telemarketing companies, we continue to be inundated, on a daily basis, by calls Of every kind.

In particular, you may have answered an Italian number only to find an operator or an automated voice on the other end announcing the sale of a product or service. The new regulations introduced by the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) require telephone operators to apply a series of "filters" that automatically block all calls from foreign countries that appear on our screens with a fake landline number with an Italian prefix. This phenomenon is known as spoofing telephonePeople are more likely to respond to a phone number from their own country. This happens when, using special software, the telemarketing company modifies its number so that the caller sees a different one than the real one. Not to mention that, in most cases, these numbers are disposable: if you try to call them back, they always turn out to be non-existent. 

The second part of the new rules will come into force next November 19 and will provide for the block fake Italian cell phone numbers. 

Fines for telemarketing companies that violate the rules range from 50 euros to one million.

Read also:

• What to do against wild telemarketing
• How to find the originator of anonymous phone calls
• Telephone directories: why should we pay for them?
• Privacy: We're overwhelmed by paper but defenseless against telemarketing attacks.