France’s parliament voted to ban cold calling by companies without explicit consent this week. But will it work and how can we avoid scam calls?
We all know the feeling: Your phone rings in your pocket and you answer, only for it to be someone trying to sell you a new deal on your WiFi.
Well, if French MPs have their way, cold calls like this will be a thing of the past.
France’s parliament adopted new rules on Monday to ban unsolicited sales calls from companies.
It was added as an amendment to a bill cracking down on fraudulent use of public subsidies, particularly in the energy renovation sector.
What’s the problem with cold calling?
According to research by consumer group UFC-Que Choisir, 97% of French consumers say they are annoyed by cold calling from companies.
“The Ecologist and Social group has sought above all to be useful in defending citizens who are victims of unacceptable scams and frauds that are detrimental to the country’s essential transformation, particularly in terms of energy sobriety,” said Delphine Batho, the MP from Ecology Generation who introduced the amendment.
The proposal would see the current system changed from consumers needing to opt out to having to opt in. Companies would have to get clients explicit consent to contact them for sales purposes.
The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate, but there is widespread support.
Will the new law reduce scams?
However, some are sceptical that it will have any real effect, particularly in reducing fraud.
France has already introduced several measures to combat the problem. In 2016, a free service that allows individuals to register their phone numbers to block telemarketing calls was set up. However, weak enforcement meant many companies continued to ignore the rules.
Cold calls from certain industries such as the energy renovation sector, have also been banned in recent years. Telemarketing has also been confined to Monday to Friday from 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 8 pm.
Yet the issue persists.
“The problem is not to ban cold calling [to reduce scams], but rather to know how call centers have our information and why they use it at this level,” Centho, a French online scam investigator, told Euronews.
“Without the information about the people they are going to call, they cannot contact us. So the question I’m asking myself is what is going to change? In concrete terms, will call centers stop calling people overnight? No, it’s not a law that’s going to prevent that.”
In the meantime, there are ways to protect yourself against scam calls. Experts say to be wary of all calls you receive, never give out your bank details or PIN over the phone and be conscious of pressure tactics where the caller says you owe money or need to act quickly.
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