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The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) has announced that as from tomorrow (August 21), telephone operators will insert a specific "+" sign in the calling number display (CND) of mobile phones to help members of the public identify incoming calls which originate from outside Hong Kong, despite their having eight-digit calling numbers that resemble those of local calls. The new measure seeks to alert the public to possible phone scams through caller ID spoofing.
"A caller ID allows a called party to identify a caller before he or she answers the call. According to the Police, there has been a surge in phone scams lately involving scammers deliberately changing or falsifying the caller ID by means of caller ID spoofing. The Police indicated that these phone scams originate from outside Hong Kong," a spokesman for OFCA said today (August 20).
"To help detect caller ID spoofing, as from tomorrow, the telephone operators are required to insert a '+' sign in the CND of mobile phones as a prefix for all incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong, even if, for instance, the calling number is masqueraded as a local Hong Kong phone number. The '+' sign enables the public to identify from the CND the origination of the incoming calls as being from outside Hong Kong. On receipt of such calls, members of the public should be alert to the possible fraudulent identity of the callers. If a person decides to take the call, he or she should remain vigilant and be on guard against possible telephone scams," the spokesman continued.
Until now, the practice of inserting a "+" sign before the calling number of an incoming external call varied from one telephone operator to another. Unifying the arrangement at this juncture aims to raise the alertness of members of the public to calls from possible scammers by identifying the origin of the suspicious calls as being from outside Hong Kong.
The measure will be implemented in full by all relevant telephone operators in Hong Kong from tomorrow, save for two mobile network operators, Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited (HKT) and Hutchison Telephone Company Limited (Hutchison). HKT and Hutchison are putting in place the new arrangements in two phases. Phase one, which also takes effect tomorrow, covers incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong other than roaming calls made by Hong Kong mobile phone users to the networks of these two operators. The insertion of the "+" sign for all incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong for these two operators will take effect in phase two sometime in September 2015.
"The insertion of the '+' sign in all incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong seeks to alert the public to possible phone scams. Whether or not the '+' sign is shown in the CND of mobile phones, members of the public are advised to always stay vigilant in regard to suspicious phone calls. They should not disclose their personal information to or accede to any request of the dubious caller. If in doubt, they are advised to alert family members to the questionable phone calls, and to immediately report suspected phone scams to the Police," the spokesman said.
OFCA also issued today a consumer alert providing the public with further information about the new measure and on precautions to guard against possible caller ID spoofing and phone scams. Please find it at: www.ofca.gov.hk/en/consumer_focus/education_corner/alerts/general_mobile/telephone_scams/index.html.
Ends/Thursday, August 20, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:10
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