Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser, has welcomed new technology from Vodafone which will allow the network to block up to 425,000 nuisance and scam calls a day and has called on other networks to follow suit with a similar system.
Under the previous system, Vodafone could block customers from unintentionally returning a call to a fraudulent number but it was not possible to prevent them receiving the nuisance call in the first place.
The new technology means Vodafone can block hundreds of thousands of nuisance and fraudulent calls. The customer does not need to do anything and will be unaware a call has been blocked since the system works discreetly.
During tests, Vodafone was able to block more than 425,000 nuisance and scam calls in one day alone. Over that week, the number of nuisance call attempts against its customers dropped to under a thousand as the perpetrators realised their calls could not enter the Vodafone network.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“Nuisance and scam calls are the bugbear of many people throughout Perth and Kinross, Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire and its pleasing to see Vodafone take a proactive approach to preventing them from reaching customers in the first place.
“Consumers in Scotland are more likely to receive nuisance or scam callers than anywhere else in the UK and more needs to be done to crack down on those responsible.
“I would call on other networks to follow Vodafone’s example and be proactive in clamping down on fraudsters and hope that this kind of technology can be rolled out for landline as well as mobile numbers.
“Scammers cost the UK economy around £9 billion a year, with elderly and vulnerable residents most at risk and it’s important that network operators and the police work together to stay one step ahead of the criminals.”