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Before February is out, those annoying spam calls and cold calls from companies you’ve never heard of will be a thing of the past in Spain. The Ministry of Digital Transformation has just signed off on an order that will completely ban this practice in order to “combat cyber scams and fake phone calls.”

 

Minister Óscar López explained that, by the end of the month, companies will be “strictly prohibited” from making commercial calls unless they use an 800 or 900 number, or a properly registered one that begins with the prefix of a Spanish province.

 

“That is to say, you will not be able to receive a commercial call from a mobile phone, which is what is happening today. We receive calls from a mobile phone, we think it is an acquaintance, a relative, we do not know who it is, and then it turns out to be a commercial call. This will be prohibited by the ministerial order,” he clarified.

 

Spain has a number of measures in place to cut down on irritating cold calls, but spammers are always one step ahead. Back in 2023, a law was passed to prevent businesses cold calling potential clients unless they’ve expressly given their permission to be contacted, but this has done nothing to stop fraudulent set-ups and scammers.

 

“There is much to do, we must not sit back and do nothing, we must act”, said the minister, who praised the steps that Spain is taking in terms of regulation.

 

There is a simple step people can take themselves to cut down on unsolicited calls: sign up to the Robinson List.

 

If you’ve never heard of it, the Robinson List is a clever tool that allows you to screen unwanted telephone, SMS and email communication.

 

To register, all you have to do is go to the website listarobinson.es where you’ll be prompted to enter personal details such as your DNI, NIE or NIF number along with your name, date of birth and contact details.

 

From there, it’s a simple matter of selecting which kinds of advertising communication you’d rather not suffer through.

 

 

Image: Freepik