Cullen International’s research shows that more national regulators across Europe are acting against spoofing practices, which can undermine end users’ trust in telecommunications services.
Fraudsters often illegally manipulate their calling line identifier (CLI) to make their calls or SMS appear coming from a number which their victims trust, while the call is really made from another number or even from abroad.
Telecoms regulators are using different tools to tackle this issue.
Out of the 15 European countries covered in this updated research, eight now impose obligations to block incoming international calls that have a national CLI.
These rules just entered into force in 2024 in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Malta, and Sweden.

Six countries adopted a do-not-originate registry, collecting numbers that can never be used for outgoing calls.
France implemented the STIR/SHAKEN protocol in October 2024, to authenticate CLIs for VoIP calls using a national fixed number.
For more information and access to the benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our European Consumer Protection (in Telecoms) service.
more news
10 June 26
Digital identity systems: governance, regulation and emerging trends
Digital ID systems are becoming key enablers of digital economies, supporting access to public and private digital services. Cullen International's new report explores the different governance mechanisms applied across the world, as well as different architectural designs.
05 June 26
Alternative delivery operators mostly remain outside postal regulation
Our new European benchmark provides information on whether alternative delivery operators are considered as postal service providers.
01 June 26
Privacy in the digital age
Our latest benchmark compares data protection laws across 14 jurisdictions. It covers recent legal updates, lawful bases for processing personal data, and extraterritorial applicability. It also examines privacy rules for location, biometric, and children’s data, as well as enforcement practices involving these data types and big tech groups.