Faced with the persistence of number spoofing practices and reports from large numbers of users, Arcep is opening an administrative enquiry into all electronic communications operators that assign numbers from the national numbering plan. The purpose of this enquiry is to understand the origins and the routing methods of the calls whose number has been spoofed, and to ensure compliance with the caller ID authentication obligations prescribed by law.
More than 19,000 number spoofing reports logged on the “J’alerte l’Arcep” platform in 2025: continuing to erode users’ trust
Reports of number spoofing logged on the “J’alerte l’Arcep” reporting platform have skyrocketed, going from 531 in 2023 to more than 19,000 in 2025, and now represent consumers’ most commonly reported complaint to Arcep. The victims often describe situations of distress and confusion when they receive calls from people complaining about the scam or spam calls they received from their number. In some instances, the caller ID displayed by the fraudsters belongs to a government authority or a financial institution, as a way to bolster the credibility of their attempted scams.
Verify that all operators are effectively applying number authentication mechanisms
Public authorities have taken several measures to strengthen user protection against number spoofing.
The Law of 24 July 2020 on supervising telemarketing and combatting fraudulent calls[1] introduces the obligation for telephone operators to authenticate the caller number and to cut off any calls whose number has not been properly authenticated. In practice, this system, implemented through a caller ID authentication mechanism, relies on a “chain of trust” between operators, who share the authentication information affixed by the operator on whose network the call originated. The steadily widespread use of this mechanism began in October 2024.
On 1 January 2026 the Arcep Decision requiring all operators to mask any French mobile number that could not be authenticated when the calls were coming from abroad.
However, the sheer number and the seriousness of these reports testify to the ease with which scam call perpetrators are able to identify and exploit ways to circumvent legal caller ID authentication mechanisms, as well as the national numbering plan rules for the use of numbers.
The administrative enquiry opened by Arcep thus seeks to identify the operators involved in routing fraudulent calls and, when applicable, to verify compliance with their obligations.
Given the network interconnection procedures and the many players likely to be involved in routing a call, the enquiry is being opened into all operators that are authorised to assign telephone numbers from the national numbering plan.
Associated document
To find out more:
- “Numbering” Key issue page on the Arcep website: main laws and regulations, history of Arcep decisions, number portability and directory services
[1] Law No. 2020-901 of 24 July 2020.