Numbers in 06 or 07 soon banned for commercial canvassing

You have probably noticed it in recent months: whether advertising or simple scams, many messages came from numbers starting with 06 or 07, usually reserved for mobile phones. But in a few months, that won’t happen anymore, explains Actu.fr. The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep) published its numbering plan on Monday September 5 which prohibits, from January 1, 2023, commercial services from using these numbers. The regulatory agency specifies that they are reserved for “interpersonal communications”.

“This has greatly increased the confidence that users can have in such numbers, to the point that they keep the number for long periods of time, and have the intuition that any call received from a mobile number will give them the possibility of calling back the recipient reliably”, points the finger at Arcep, which wants to fight against fraud of all kinds interviewed in recent months, such as canvassing linked to the CPF or MaPrimRenov. Indeed, a user who today receives a call or a message from a number beginning with 06 or 07 has the impression of facing a human being, whereas in many cases he finds himself faced with a commercial department. “Ten-digit mobile numbers are now most often permanently attached to a specific end subscriber who can be reached in all circumstances,” recalls Arcep.

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More effective control

Thanks to its “I alert Arcep” system, the Regulatory Authority has collected numerous testimonies evoking fraud or mass advertising. “The Authority considers that any mobile number must only be used to provide an interpersonal communications service based on the numbering”, is it detailed in the numbering plan. For the platforms that used these numbers until then, it will be necessary to go through a number starting with 09. The possible uses have also been listed, such as “conversations by messages between a brand and its customer” or the use “for a very short duration of telephone numbers for certain situations of ephemeral contact”, namely delivery people, VTC drivers, etc.

The decision taken by Arcep also aims to expand the number of mobile phone numbers available, the base of which is filling up more and more. It remains to be seen whether the commercial services will respect the rule at the start of 2023. But with this device, Arcep should be able to identify automated systems more easily. It should be noted that certain geographical numbers beginning for example with 02 or 05 may still be used by automated systems, but only if they have been verified by the operators.

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