One arrives official ban on telemarketing calls aggressive, but those hoping to say goodbye to annoying numbers once and for all may be disappointed. Agcom is launching a new offensive, but not everyone is convinced of its effectiveness. Here's what will really happen starting from August 19th and because there are those who are already talking about a "palliative".
The first real ban on aggressive telemarketing begins on August 19th: but there's a big "but"
The first real technical block against the telephone spoofing, a widespread practice that has turned aggressive telemarketing calls into a nightmare for millions of Italians. Spoofing is the technique used the caller pretends to use an Italian telephone number, even if it's actually operating from a foreign server. The trick is to make a familiar number appear (perhaps with the prefix +39 or even similar to that of an official agency) to encourage the recipient to answer.
Starting August 19th, all calls from abroad that they use "falsified" Italian numbers will be automatically blocked. In other words, if a call comes from a foreign server, it will no longer be able to display a number with the +39 prefix. If it does, the call will not be forwarded at all. The block will affect solo i numeri fixed, at least for now.
But it doesn't end here. The second step, scheduled for the November 19, will come to the heart of the matter with the blocking of the spoofed Italian mobile numbersHere the issue is more technical: operators will have to verify whether the apparently Italian number actually comes from a mobile phone active in our country.
If the call comes from abroad but appears to come from an Italian mobile phone, a double check will be triggeredThe system will check whether the user is actually abroad via roaming. If there is no match, the call will be dropped.
All this stems from a project launched by Agcom in March 2024, after months of consultations with telephone operators, consumer associations, and companies in the sector. The goal is clear: make telephone traffic safer from aggressive telemarketing and block once and for all those calls that appear to be coming from an acquaintance or a bank, but are actually disguised attempts at scams or aggressive sales.
But there is a detail that many ignore: this restriction concerns only part of the problemConsumer associations, in fact, remain rather cold. The National Consumers Union (UNC) calls it an easily circumvented "palliative." The reason is simple: regulatory differences between European countries. allow ai Call centers are smarter than others at moving operations to where the rules are weaker.
Codacons recognizes that this is a step forward, but underlines that the problem remains structural. Despite the existence of the Public register of oppositions and despite the codes of conduct introduced in recent years, the phenomenon shows no sign of abating.
In short, the August 19th blockade will send a strong signal. But it won't be an insurmountable barrier. Those who think they'll never receive any more harassing calls may find that the system still has several flaws. And as long as technological shortcuts and gray areas in international regulation exist, aggressive telemarketing will continue to find new ways to circumvent the bans. Even if it comes with a few more obstacles.
It won't do much good, and it won't last long. I've stopped answering unknown numbers, at the risk of not answering legitimate ones... A couple of spam messages every day. Often, when you answer, you hear the chatter of someone downstairs, and as soon as you answer, they automatically send you some kind of spam. I'm used to replying with "CARABINIERI DI FORLÌ," but they don't even listen to what you say and send the spam. The government should track down all these numbers and punish them appropriately (stalking charges and thousands of euros in fines), otherwise it's pointless.... Read the rest »