Tele.Síntese reports that Brazilian comms regulator Anatel is demanding tougher controls to prevent the abuse of 0800 toll-free numbers by fraudsters. Per their article:
Despacho da Anatel manda operadoras que vendem números 0800, de qualquer porte, suspenderem vendas até organizarem cadastros e tomarem medidas para evitar o golpe da falsa central de atendimento. E diz que, se as teles não seguirem as recomendações, serão responsabilizadas por omissão.
Anatel orders operators of any size that sell 0800 numbers to suspend sales until they organize registrations and take measures to stop scams from bogus call centers. They also state that telcos will be held liable if they have not followed Anatel’s guidance.
The regulator’s recommendations are stated in Order 68, which was published on November 27. Order 68 concludes:
As melhores práticas e recomendações trazidas no presente documento se configuram em medidas técnicas e administrativas que objetivam prevenir e combater a ocorrência de fraudes relacionadas à prestação do serviço e ao uso das redes de telecomunicações. A sua não implementação poderá constituir omissão por parte das prestadoras no atendimento à sua obrigação regulamentar de atuação, com a consequente responsabilização administrativa decorrente de tal omissão.
The best practices and recommendations set out in this document consist of technical and administrative measures that aim to prevent and combat the occurrence of fraud related to the provision of the service and the use of telecommunications networks. Failure to implement it may constitute an omission on the part of the providers in complying with their regulatory obligation to act, with consequent administrative liability resulting from such omission.
Those recommendations include:
- 0800 numbers can only be sold alongside the supply of a specific telecoms service
- Customers should be contractually prohibited from reselling their numbers
- 0800 services should be immediately suspended if there is evidence of fraudulent misuse, and the number should be blocked if the customer does not respond with an adequate justification
Order 68 was signed by Vinicius Caram, Superintendent of Grants and Provision Resources, and Gustavo Borges, Superintendent of Regulatory Controls at Anatel. Viewers of The Communications Risk Show may remember that Gustavo (pictured) kindly joined us last season for a program about Brazil’s innovative approach to tackling unwanted robocalls.
