Telephone canvassing: here is the new issue to combat identity theft

Many measures have been taken or arrive soon to try to protect consumers from the modern scourge that is illegal canvassing. A new law is notably on the way to 2026 To harden the rules against companies that do not respect the law. But a dead angle remains, namely identity theft. This is what the Arcep wants to tackle today.

Soon a number 99 99 99 99 99 on your smartphones

For the moment, it is only a public consultation still far from leading to concrete changes. The contributions of the various players (operators, consumer associations, publishers and individuals) are expected until September 26, 2025.

However, if the various modifications of the proposed rules were to apply, they could help the French better protect themselves from fraudulent calls by strengthening the law of July 24, 2020. The latter aims for the record to frame the canvassing and to fight against unwanted calls.

Regarding identity theft, it has already provided for the implementation by operators of an authentication mechanism for the caller number (Man), sometimes insufficient. The body indicates: “However, ARCEP has received more than 10,000 classified reports on its “I Alete the Arcep” platform as “usurpation of numbers” since January 2025, testifying that the perpetrators of fraudulent calls have found means to bypass the authentication obligation to usurp numbers, in particular mobile.“”

Several methods to avoid identity theft

Arcep has three solutions to try to fight this problem. First, display number 99 99 99 99 99 on the consumer phone when a call with a French mobile number from the international could not be authenticated. Practical to immediately identify a fraudulent call and not to drop out, hoping that legitimate calls issued in roaming from abroad will not be affected.

The organization also recommends that operators display this number easily identifiable in the event that technical constraints prevent them from retransmiting the authentication information of the appellant number when the calling. This aims to prevent fraudsters from using vulnerability on certain equipment that cannot redirect calls according to technical standards.

Finally, if these two suggestions are mainly there to avoid a fraudulent call when it is already underway, the last tries to go a little more to the source. ARCEP declares that it wants to clarify the obligation made to departure operators to check the caller numbers used by their customers. The organization provides that operators must define in the contract with their client the list of numbers he can use as a caller number, and technically restrict the numbers that the customer can use when he calls to this list.