NCC, Taiwan’s Top Three Telecoms Roll Out Voice Alerts for Hidden-Number Calls

Fraud rings are using hidden numbers to evade caller identification, making it difficult for people to assess a call’s origin before answering and creating a new vulnerability in telecom fraud prevention. Taiwan’s National Communications Commission, or NCC, coordinated with Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications to play a voice warning before such calls connect, alerting users to remain vigilant.

Chunghwa Telecom began piloting voice alerts for hidden-number calls on March 2, while Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone had planned to introduce them during the first half of the year. After the trial showed that the alerts helped prevent fraud, the NCC and the three carriers announced that the service would be expanded to both landlines and mobile phones from July, providing voice warnings for all hidden-number calls.