Ireland is taking decisive action against the rising tide of scam text messages with the introduction of a new SMS Sender ID Registry by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). This initiative is designed to identify legitimate organizations and significantly reduce the volume of fraudulent texts targeting Irish consumers and businesses.
The new registry is an upgrade from a voluntary approach that Ireland previously experimented with. Under the old approach, organizations decided whether they wanted to register their Sender IDs. Registration benefited them by simplifying the task of identifying messages sent by fraudsters trying to impersonate the registered organizations. However, too few organizations chose to register their Sender IDs under the old scheme, leaving the public at risk. The new registry is mandatory for organizations sending application-to-person (A2P) SMS messages in bulk, and can hence be backed by tougher controls to detect and block scam messages.
There is a February 25, 2025 deadline for registering Sender IDs. From July 3, 2025, any text messages sent using unregistered Sender IDs will be marked as ‘Likely Scam’ on recipients’ phones. Furthermore, from October 3, 2025, messages from unregistered Sender IDs will be completely blocked, preventing their delivery to Irish mobile users. ComReg is urging organizations to promptly instruct their SMS providers to pre-register their Sender IDs. There has been a noticeable blitz of promotional activity to make businesses aware of the registration deadline.
ComReg’s research estimates there are approximately 365,000 cases of fraud in Ireland annually because of scam calls and texts, alongside 89 million instances of ‘annoying or irritating’ communications. Scam calls and texts are also to blame for around 5,000 Irish businesses falling victim to fraud each year. Fraudsters have typically sought to impersonate well-known businesses like banks, but scams also evolve in response to increased public awareness. Forcing businesses to be proactive about registering their Sender IDs is a sensible way to curb future frauds.
Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland, welcomed the adoption of the new mandatory Sender ID registry.
Tackling spam texts is one part of Bank of Ireland’s four-point plan to enhance consumer and business protection from fraud.
Sadlier also alluded to the desire for automated filters that examine the content of SMS messages in order to identify scams. ComReg has already proposed the adoption of content-based SMS filters but this would first require changes to Ireland’s privacy laws.
Building on this development, the Bank is hopeful that there will be further progress to implement the programme commitment to examine a broader SMS spam filter to further prevent fraud attempts on Irish consumers.
