Ofcom Is Cracking Down on Spoofed Calls
Ofcom published new guidance on 15 July 2026 requiring phone providers to block more spoofed calls, the ones that fake a UK number so a scam call from abroad looks like it’s coming from your bank, a delivery firm, or even a neighbour. The rules take effect from 15 July 2027, giving providers a year to update their systems.
It builds on earlier action. Since January 2025, providers have had to block international calls that present a UK landline number as the caller ID, outside a short list of legitimate cases. This latest round closes a gap around UK mobile numbers specifically, including ones that appear to be roaming abroad.
What Actually Counts as a Spoofed Call?
Any call where the number on your screen isn’t really where it’s coming from. Criminal gangs based overseas often display a trusted UK number, sometimes even your own bank’s real customer service line, because people are far more likely to answer and trust a familiar area code.
Not every disguised number is a spoofed call in the fraudulent sense. Businesses can legitimately display a different number than the one they’re dialling from, which is why Ofcom’s rules include a “Do Not Originate” list. It protects numbers used by banks and government bodies to receive calls but never to make them, so any call claiming to come from one of those numbers is an instant red flag.
How Do Ofcom’s New Rules Actually Stop Spoofed Calls?
By putting the burden on providers rather than on you. Under the new guidance, a provider must withhold or block the caller ID on an international call that claims to be a UK mobile number roaming abroad, unless it can actually verify that claim. If it can’t confirm the call is genuine, it isn’t allowed to just wave it through with a trusted looking number attached.
That’s a meaningful shift from where things stood before. Previously, a lot of the technical ability to spot a spoofed call sat with individual networks making their own judgement calls. A shared, mandatory standard closes the gaps that scammers were routing calls through.
Why Target Mobile Numbers Specifically Now?
Because that’s where the gap was. The 2025 rules already dealt with international calls faking a UK landline number, which pushed some scammers toward faking mobile numbers instead, particularly ones set up to look like they’re roaming abroad. Spoofed calls tend to follow whichever route is currently easiest, so closing one door without closing the other just moves the traffic sideways.
Mobile numbers are also, in a sense, a better disguise. Seeing a UK mobile number pop up feels personal, like a friend, a colleague, or a delivery driver, in a way a landline number doesn’t always manage. That familiarity is exactly why spoofed calls using mobile formats have become more common, and why Ofcom decided the gap needed closing rather than waiting to see if it settled on its own.
What Should You Do If You Get a Spoofed Call?
Hang up and call the organisation back on a number you already trust, like the one on your bank card or a recent genuine letter, never a number the caller gives you. A genuine bank or government department will never mind you calling back to check.
Report it. You can forward a scam text to 7726 for free, and our guide to Ofcom’s scam text rules covers that process in more detail. For a spoofed call specifically, your network provider’s app or website usually has a dedicated way to flag it, and reporting patterns helps providers refine exactly which numbers to block next. Even a call you hung up on straight away is worth a quick report, since one flagged number can help catch a pattern across thousands of other calls.
If you’ve already given away any personal details on a spoofed call, treat it the same as any other scam. Our guide to protecting your mobile number from fraud covers the wider steps worth taking if you think your details are already out there.
Spoofed Calls Crackdown: The Numbers, Checked August 2026
| Detail | What’s confirmed |
|---|---|
| Guidance published | 15 July 2026 |
| Rules take effect | 15 July 2027 |
| Landline spoofing block in force since | January 2025 |
| What’s new | Covers UK mobile numbers shown as roaming abroad |
| Protected number list | Do Not Originate (DNO) list for banks and government bodies |
Source: Ofcom, “Tackling scam calls” statement, checked August 2026.
Key takeaways
- Ofcom’s new rules, published 15 July 2026, target spoofed calls faking UK mobile numbers, taking effect 15 July 2027.
- Providers must now verify or block a spoofed call rather than passing it through by default.
- A Do Not Originate list protects bank and government numbers from being faked in the first place.
- Always hang up and call back on a number you already trust, never one the caller gives you.
Roo’s honest take: no rule stops every scammer overnight. This one just makes their favourite trick a lot harder to pull off.
Frequently asked questions about spoofed calls
- What is a spoofed call?
- A call where the displayed number is faked, often to look like a trusted UK organisation or a familiar area code, when the call is actually coming from somewhere else entirely.
- When do Ofcom’s new spoofed call rules start?
- The guidance was published on 15 July 2026 and takes effect from 15 July 2027, giving providers time to update their systems.
- How can I tell if a call is spoofed?
- You often can’t tell from the number alone. If a caller claims to be your bank or a government body and asks for personal details, hang up and call back on a number you already trust.
- Does this stop scam texts too?
- No, this specific guidance covers calls. Ofcom has separate rules for scam texts, covered in our guide to Ofcom’s texting crackdown.
- What is the Do Not Originate list?
- A list of numbers, mostly used by banks and government bodies, that only ever receive calls and never make them. Any call claiming to come from one of these numbers is automatically suspicious.
