Spain has officially banned commercial calls from mobile numbers starting today, June seventh. This measure is part of the government’s initiative to tackle rising cases of telephone fraud and scams via SMS. The regulation, issued by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, aims to counter criminals who use mobile numbers to impersonate legitimate identities and extract sensitive user information.

One additional aspect of the government’s plan includes allowing calls from special numbers, including eight hundred and nine hundred numbers, previously limited only to receiving calls. This change enables businesses to conduct their commercial activities from designated numbers to enhance consumer trust.

Moreover, operators are now mandated to block both calls and SMS from numbers that are unallocated or not assigned, which has resulted in the blocking of thousands of fraudulent communications daily. In the first two months of this measure, over fourteen million calls and eight hundred thousand SMS messages were successfully blocked.

The final element of the strategy involves establishing an official database to track alphanumeric codes used by legitimate entities in SMS communications. This database, managed by the National Commission of Markets and Competition, will play a crucial role in verifying identities and preventing impersonation scams, set to launch fifteen months post-regulation publication.