The new data released by Agcom they precisely photograph a reality that millions of people know well: Italians’ phones are constantly on under pressure due to spam calls. In the first days of full operation of the anti-spoofing filter on mobile numbers, active from November 19, 2025they were 49.3 million illicit attempts blocked. An average that exceeds 4 million calls a daynumbers that make the extent of the phenomenon clear.
How the new anti-spoofing filter works
The system introduced by the Communications Regulatory Authority acts against the so-called CLI spoofinga technique that allows foreign call centers to disguise yourself behind Italian mobile numbers. Thanks to the collaboration between international operators and national mobile networks, calls coming from abroad with counterfeit Italian numbers are intercepted and blocked before reaching users. The filter completes a strategy already started in August with the blocking of calls from spoofed Italian landlines.
The effectiveness of the filter
The data collected between 19 and 30 November speak clearly. Calls with an apparent Italian mobile number are collapsegoing from an average of 26.8 million per day to 7.4 million. In percentage terms, the system succeeded stop approximately 56% of illicit trafficking. A result which, from a technical point of view, confirms the validity of the intervention and makes it more difficult for illegal call centers to pretend a national origin.
The side effect: boom in foreign prefixes
If on the one hand calls with fake Italian numbers are decreasing, on the other we are witnessing a parallel phenomenon: the explosion of calls with foreign prefix. Before the introduction of the filter, these calls were approx 6.6 million per day; after November 19th they rose to 23.8 millionwith a increase close to 400%. Numbers with prefixes of are increasingly appearing on smartphone screens Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden or Romania.
Why call centers bypass the block
The reason is simple: no longer being able to use counterfeit Italian numbers, the aggressive telemarketing it moved up real foreign numbersOften purchased through services VoIP at minimal costs. These calls do not violate the new rules, because they use authentic and regularly assigned numbers. Blocking them indiscriminately would also disrupt legitimate communications with companies, couriers or people abroad.
A battle still open
Agcom defines this behavior as clear fallback of illicit activitiesa sign that the filters are working but . The result is a paradoxical situation: fewer calls “disguised” as Italian, but more rings coming from abroad. For users, the annoyance remains, even if it becomes more recognizable. The fight against telephone spam continues, in a constant chase between rules and those who try to circumvent them.
