Portugal requires operators to block fraudulent messages and identify prepaid users
The Government has approved a legislative proposal that requires telecommunications operators to block fraudulent messages and identify prepaid card users, in efforts to combat spoofing.
Cabinet proposal aims to prevent fraud through digital identity falsification
The Portuguese Government approved, at a Cabinet meeting held on Friday, a legislative authorisation proposal that requires telecommunications operators to block or anonymise fraudulent messages and to identify users of mobile prepaid cards, according to an official statement released the same evening.
According to Correio da Manhã, the proposal will be submitted to parliament in the form of a legislative authorisation and aims to "strengthen the security and reliability of electronic communications and protect users against abusive practices, such as the usurpation of telephone numbers and message identifiers".
The measure establishes new obligations for communications service providers, imposing the adoption of mechanisms to detect and combat fraud. These include the blocking or anonymisation of fraudulent messages and messages with deceptive hyperlinks, in accordance with the Cabinet statement.
The measure also covers the mandatory identification of users of mobile prepaid cards and provides for the possibility of installing mobile signal inhibitors in prisons, with the aim of strengthening security conditions in those facilities.
The 'spoofing' technique at the centre of the legislation
At issue is the technique known as 'spoofing', a form of identity falsification in which fraudsters use the names or references of people or entities considered trustworthy to attempt to obtain personal data from victims and thereby commit fraud. A frequent example consists of falsifying the telephone number of a public body, making it appear that the call originates from an official number.
On the Monday prior to the approval of the measure, the president of the regulator Anacom stated that the entity was involved in the design of this future legislation combating digital fraud by 'spoofing'.
On the same occasion, the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Álvaro Santos Pereira, recalled that Portugal is the only country in the European Union that has not yet legislated against this practice.
Source: Correio da Manhã