As from 1 November 2024, telephony providers in Malta, including Vanilla Telecoms Ltd., will be implementing blocking measures, intended to protect subscribers from potential scam calls with a Maltese number as Caller ID received from abroad. These measures are being introduced in compliance with the MCA Decision Notice titled Preventative Measures to Mitigate CLI Spoofing and Vishing Scams, available at this link.
The blocking measures may affect the ability of end-users to receive certain phone calls where the Caller ID is a Maltese number starting with ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘8’. Whilst calls from mobile numbers (i.e. a Maltese number starting with ‘7’ or ‘9’) will not be impacted, there may be an impact on certain scenarios that involve ‘call forwarding’, or on calls placed by callers making use of overseas telephony providers that are not authorised to provide services in Malta.
The following are the call scenarios that may be impacted:
- Calls where the calling party number is a Maltese phone number starting with ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘8’ towards foreign numbers that are forwarded to a Maltese number;
- Calls where the calling party number is a Maltese phone number starting with ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘8’ towards outbound roamers that are late forwarded to a Maltese number. The term ‘outbound roamers’ refers to subscribers assigned Maltese numbers starting with ‘7’ or ‘9’ who are roaming whilst outside Malta (e.g. Maltese tourist abroad). Late forwarding occurs when an incoming call is forwarded to another number on specific conditions, such as when the called party is already busy in another call; and
- Calls where the calling party number is a Maltese phone number starting with ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘8’ originated through ‘overseas solutions’ (e.g. internet-based or cloud-based telephony services) offered by unauthorised telephony providers.
If you consider that the blocking measures may have an impact on your experience with forwarded calls, it is advisable to consider using alternative communications arrangements or channels. For instance, the call blocking measure will not have an impact where the Calling Party Number is from the mobile ranges ‘7’ or ‘9’. Reach out to Vanilla Telecoms should you need any further assistance.
In view of the possible impact on users of call origination services provided by unauthorised telephony providers, as from 4 June 2024, you may call the number (+356) 2400 2400 to verify whether your telephony setup may be affected by this measure. If you call this number from a call origination service that is authorised with the MCA, you will hear a voice announcement that informs you that the call was placed from an authorised service provider. If you do not hear this announcement, please reach out to Vanilla Telecoms to discuss your current setup.