Cullen International’s benchmark outlines regulatory measures against spoofing practices and scams across Europe.

Scams, in the form of calls and SMS, are increasingly affecting end users of telecommunications services.

Scams refer to voice calls or SMS with the objective of committing fraud. The fraudsters’ goal is to mislead the receiver into giving personal and financial information, which can result in significant financial losses for the victims. 

Spoofing consists in the illegal manipulation of telephone numbers, usually using the CLI (calling line identifier) of a number which the victim trusts, while the call is made from another number, and often from abroad.

Regulatory actions typically target the fraudulent manipulation of CLIs to avoid spoofing practices

Our research highlights recent actions taken by telecoms regulators in three countries:

In Finland, Traficom requires operators to ensure the accuracy of message sender information and to reliably identify senders from 4 May 2026.

The French regulator ARCEP adopted measures that apply since 1 January 2026, including to address issues with unauthenticated calls from abroad using a French mobile number.

In Spain, the regulator CNMC created a register of aliases for businesses and public administrations. Operators must block any messages using unregistered alias or coming from an unregistered provider. Such registries also exist in other countries like Finland, Ireland, and Poland.

In parallel, the Digital Networks Act proposed by the European Commission in January 2026 includes provisions for more “effectiveness, coordination and complementarity of fraud preventing measures” at the EU level.

Scope
Region: Europe
Countries covered: 15 (Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, UK)
Policy area: Consumer protection, fraudulent communications, spoofing/scams
Last updated: April 2026

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