The official numbers confirm what was evident from the first findings: the call centers that pretended to call from Italy (despite having their headquarters abroad) now continue to call; but the number is the foreign one.
The Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) has released data relating to the functioning of the anti-spoofing filter – to counteract the “masking” of the real telephone number – which has been extended to mobile numbers since November 19th. Until November 18, foreign call centers could use an Italian mobile number.
If we look at the Italian scenario, the first data confirm the impact of the measure. Between 19 and 30 November, approximately 49.3 million illicit calls with falsified Italian mobile numbers were blocked, equal to over 4 million per day. This is approximately 56% of the total calls from mobile networks with an Italian number routed in the same period. Traffic of this type has collapsed: The daily average went from approximately 26.8 million calls, recorded between November 1st and 18th, to 7.4 million after the filter was activated.
At the same time, a strong increase in calls with foreign numbers was observed: from an average of 6.6 million per day before November 19th (19% of the total) it rose to 23.8 million per day (74% of traffic). A clear signal of how illicit activities, unable to use fake Italian numbers, are falling back on foreign prefixes.
You could say that, looking at the shift, nothing has actually changed; but the truth is that it has become easier to recognize call centerssince an incoming call with the English or German or Danish prefix immediately catches the eye. Where previously, when in doubt, many answered because behind an Italian mobile number there could be a technician called for a domestic intervention or an acquaintance who had changed his number; in short, a non-commercial call. Today the situation is more clear.
The measures on fixed numbers also remain effective. International calls with Italian landline numbers blocked were around 10 million and the percentage of intercepted traffic stabilized at around 2% of the total, a sharp decline compared to the initial phase of August, when peaks close to 9% were recorded.
