Call for input: Reducing mobile messaging scams

This Call for input covers Short Message Service (SMS) and Rich Communications Services (RCS). Both require a user’s mobile telephone number in order to deliver a message over the mobile network and therefore are directly in scope of Ofcom’s telecoms regulatory powers and duties:

• SMS is the traditional text messaging service on mobile networks. It is available to all mobile users, and UK operators have a range of measures in place to disrupt SMS misuse by scammers.
• RCS is a newer service that seeks to modernise SMS with additional functionality. In the UK, mobile operators currently partner with Google to deliver RCS. It is likely to become more widely available in future and we therefore expect that scammers will increasingly seek to exploit it. Disrupting the use of RCS by scammers raises some new challenges compared to SMS which we consider important to cover in this CFI.

We know that scammers also use other messaging services, such as WhatsApp, to carry out scams. While these services may require users to provide a telephone number to sign up, messages are not routed through the network using the number itself. Such online communication services (OCS) are out of scope of this document as they are covered by Ofcom’s work to implement the Online Safety Act.

Responding to this Call for input

Please submit responses using the response form by 5pm on 7 October 2024.