New telephone law aims to reduce bank fraud in France
The new measures are intended to make official numbers ‘tamper proof’
The practice of pretending to be a genuine caller is often called 'spoofing' or 'phishing'
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A new law in France is aiming to make bank phone numbers ‘tamper proof’, in a bid to stop fraudsters from calling would-be victims pretending to be from their bank.
Since October 1 new measures - as part of the so-called ‘Naegelen law’ - have required telephone operators to use a system that aims to authenticate the origin of calls.
This is intended to stop fraudsters from being able to ‘fake’ the numbers; a practice sometimes called ‘spoofing’ or ‘phishing’.
Fake bank calls
Often fraudsters using the system pretend to be from the bank’s anti-fraud department, and claim that they are helping you protect your account.
They call out of the blue and claim there has been suspicious activity or transactions. They then go on to say that they will help you to secure your account and money.
In reality they have usually found your details online, and are working to steal your funds.
Using telephone software (which is legal in itself), the criminals make the call look as if it is coming from the bank’s genuine telephone number. The number displays on the victim’s smartphone screen when it rings, which increases the chance that the victim will answer, and trust the caller.
“The aim of this system is to prevent the spoofing of landline telephone numbers, whether for banks, businesses or public administrations,” says government website Service Public.
Read also: Bank call scams: why more people are being caught out in France
Advice to avoid a spoof caller
Police warn that people should never, “under any circumstances”, provide bank details to a caller, let alone online banking login details, password, card details, security code, or security text numbers - even if the caller says they are from your bank.
Similarly, if you receive a call claiming to be from your bank, the best practice is to hang up, make sure that the call has genuinely ended, dial the correct number yourself, call back, and double check the claims.
Even genuine bank callers will not ask you for your entire password, security numbers, or any other compromising details. A genuine caller will have no problem with you hanging up, or checking again.
Read also: Scams in France: watch out for these telephone prefixes
Protected numbers
The new measure is part of the same Naegelen law that prohibits marketers from using numbers that start with 06 or 07, as these are now “reserved for personal communication”.
The Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse (Arcep) instead requires marketers to call from a small selection of number types, to make it easier for people to screen calls and identify who is calling and when.
Read also: Explainer: When and by whom can you be cold-called in France?
