The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) is moving to the next stage of its consultation about providing Call Line Identification (CLI) facilities in Jersey.
The JCRA launched its consultation in August 2021 in response to the increasing number of phone scams being operated by fraudsters using bogus phone numbers.
CLI facilities allow someone to see the caller’s number and they can then decide whether to accept or reject the call. They also help regulators and enforcement agencies with the identification, tracing, and prevention of unwanted nuisance calls, which can cause annoyance and in some cases distress for consumers.
The first step of the consultation process asked for views and comments on the importance of the review and the responses were broadly positive. There was clear support for the JCRA to continue the process, with the next step being the publication of its decisions on the matter.
Tim Ringsdore, CEO of the JCRA said, “Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated in their methods, and we regularly hear about telephone scams that trick people into thinking they are speaking to their bank, a government department or other official body and therefore give up sensitive information to the fraudsters. We believe we have a role to play in protecting Islanders against telephone-based fraud and the first phase showed our action is both supported and appreciated.
“This is a high priority for us, and we have now published a draft decision setting out what we intend to do next. We want the public and other stakeholders to have their say and would encourage them to feed into the process before we reach our final conclusions – but ultimately our objective is to give Islanders greater protection against telecoms-based fraud now, and in the future.”
The JCRA is following its formal consultation process for the CLI review, which involves several rounds of public consultation before any final changes are made to licences issued to local telecoms operators, or directions set out for them to follow. More information about the CLI review can be found under the Call for Information section on the JCRA’s website.
