Ofcom UK Investigate Tismi Over Possible Misuse of Phone Numbers

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today opened a new investigation into communications provider, Tismi, which will assess whether the company has failed in its duty to ensure that phone numbers allocated to it are not being misused, including to perpetrate scams.

In case anybody has forgotten, the regulator recently launched an enforcement programme to ensure that UK telephone and text companies are using phone numbers efficiently and effectively. This formed a complementary part of Ofcom’s move, in February 2024, to strengthen their existing rules against the use of “fake phone numbers” and “spoofed calls“, which included a proposal for phone providers (fixed line and mobile) to introduce stricter measures against “Presentation Numbers” that are used to identify who is making a call (here).

Ofcom allocates telephone numbers, usually in large blocks, to telecoms firms, which can then transfer those numbers to individuals or other businesses as their customers. But the regulator is concerned that numbers they’ve allocated to Tismi “are/were being misused, including to facilitate scams“.

Consumers are naturally much more likely to trust a call if it appears to be coming from a UK number, which makes such numbers highly valuable to scammers.

Ofcom’s Statement

In order for phone companies to tackle misuse of numbers, we expect them, among other things, to carry out ‘know your customer’ due diligence checks on their business customers to prevent scammers from accessing valid numbers in the first place. Additionally, they should keep the level of risk posed by a business customer under review by monitoring for potential number misuse.

We have gathered information which has led us to believe that numbers allocated to Tismi are potentially being misused. The evidence suggests that Tismi may have suballocated numbers without taking appropriate steps to ensure that they are not being misused.

Our investigation will seek to establish whether Tismi has failed to comply with its obligations in this area – specifically General Conditions B1.4, B1.6, B1.8, B1.9(b) and B1.9(c).

The regulator warns that their enforcement programme has also identified several other companies with “increased or consistently high levels of complaints during March and April 2024“, which has caused Ofcom to issue several formal demands for information in order to assess how effectively they are tackling scam calls and texts, including the preventative measures they have in place.

Ofcom’s investigations tend to be slow and complex processes, which means that we’re unlikely to learn the outcome of their Tismi investigation until around spring 2025 or probably later. The regulator could potentially level a significant fine against operators that aren’t following their rules, and may also enforce strict process changes to help prevent any reoccurrence.