Scam texts to be clearly marked

By Liudmyla Bortok

Text messages sent from unregistered companies or organisations will now show up on your phone as ‘Likely Scam’.

This new move by ComReg, the telecoms regulator, aims to stop fake texts that trick people into clicking dodgy links or giving away personal information.

Many trusted businesses – like banks, hospitals, delivery companies, and schools – use texts to contact people. These messages often show a name instead of a phone number. That name is called a sender ID.

But scammers have copied this, sending texts that look real, but aren’t.

To fight back, ComReg has launched a Sender ID Register. If a business isn’t signed up, any messages they send will now carry a warning. These could be scams, or they might come from genuine organisations that haven’t registered yet.

From 3 October, all unregistered messages will be blocked. Don’t click on links or call numbers in suspicious texts. Always check the company’s contact details separately.

This is part of a wider plan to cut scam texts and calls in Ireland and could save people up to €1.2 billion by 2030.