CLI spoofing is a fraudulent practice in which callers falsify the outgoing number, so that an actual call originating from a number belonging to a foreign numbering system is altered and appears to the recipient as a call from a number in the Republic of Moldova’s national numbering system—often a government agency, bank, etc. This technique is often used in social engineering scams, in which people are misled into disclosing personal or financial information, or even transferring money.
To curb this type of fraud, ARCOM has developed a phased plan for mobile operators to implement an inter-operator verification system, applicable to all calls originating from outside the Republic of Moldova that display a phone number from Moldova’s National Numbering Plan.
According to ARCOM, mobile operators are currently implementing a temporary technical solution that involves redirecting calls originating from abroad to the network of the operator licensed to use the number from which the call was made. The agency asserts that this measure has already proven effective, significantly increasing the number of blocked fraudulent calls and providing effective protection at the national level against attempts to spoof caller IDs using the National Numbering Plan.
