Singapore telcos roll out option to block international calls to combat scams from 5 January
Customers of the four major telcos can toggle international number-blocking feature to suit personal preferences
SINGAPORE — Starting from Friday (5 January), customers of four major telecommunication companies in Singapore - Singtel, StarHub, M1, and SIMBA - will have the option to block incoming calls from international numbers on their mobile phones in an effort to combat scams.
CNA reported on Thursday (4 January) that this service will be provided free of charge to all customers of the four telcos. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) advised mobile subscribers to approach their respective telecommunication companies to understand the service's scope and how to sign up for it.
Flexibility in international number-blocking
IMDA has also confirmed that subscribers have the ability to either activate or deactivate the international number-blocking feature according to their personal preferences.
For instance, users can choose to have international number-blocking activated as a default setting, but they can disable it while travelling abroad or anticipating legitimate calls from international numbers (such as calls from hotels or on-ground transport services).
While incoming calls from international numbers will be automatically blocked, calls originating from Singaporean numbers - for instance, from users roaming abroad and calling back home - will still be received.
IMDA's battle against international scam calls
CNA reported IMDA highlighting that Singapore receives about 1.6 billion international calls annually, many of which are scam calls from overseas.
The authority also said that, between January and September last year, the telcos collectively blocked over 300 million scam calls - approximately one in every four incoming calls from international numbers during that period.
IMDA and the telecommunication companies have introduced various measures to counter international scam calls. These include preemptive blocking of international calls displaying unusually high frequency, likely made by automated systems employed by scammers.
Furthermore, calls with falsified caller IDs that begin with a +65 prefix to appear as though they originated from Singapore are also identified and blocked.
IMDA revealed plans to offer the option to block both calls and SMSes from international numbers on mobile phones by the middle of this year.
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