Cable / Telecom News

CRTC, Competition Bureau join international taskforce on number ‘spoofing’



OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC and the Competition Bureau are joining forces with regulators from United Kingdom and the United States to tackle the problem of phone number ‘spoofing’, according to a statement issued Monday.

Spoofing involves callers hiding their identity by causing a false or invalid phone number to display when making calls. It is a tactic often used by organizations carrying out unsolicited, misleading or even fraudulent telemarketing activities and can increase the harm caused to consumers from nuisance calls.

A ‘spoofed’ number on a call display might be a random series of digits, or even mimic the number of a real company or person who has nothing to do with the real caller.  As a result, consumers can’t return the call to find out who is contacting them or opt out of future direct marketing calls from that organization. Number spoofing can also make it more difficult for regulators and enforcement agencies to trace those companies responsible for making nuisance calls.

“Today, we are announcing that we will bring our combined resources to bear in order to tackle this problem”, reads the statement.  “Coordinating through the international law enforcement network of the London Action Plan and the International Do Not Call Network, a public/private collaborative to address spam and do not call violations, we will work together in search of a solution that will address the concerns of consumers. If a solution is within our authority, we will act swiftly to put it in place. Where the assistance of the telecommunications industry is needed, we will reach out to the companies and associations in our respective countries.”

The statement continued that exploratory discussions will be held later this month to identify options focusing on enforcement, industry compliance and consumer education, technology and regulatory issues.

Cooperating agencies include the CRTC and Competition Bureau in Canada; the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission in the U.S.; and the Information Commissioner’s Office and Ofcom in the United Kingdom.

www.crtc.gc.ca