A telephone number allegedly used to harass a woman after she bought a book critical of the Chinese Communist Party at Eslite Bookstore has been blocked, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday, adding that it is to meet with telecoms today to discuss filtering calls that do not have valid country codes.
Here I Stand Project deputy secretary-general Cynthia Yang (楊欣慈) on Sunday told a news conference that she received a phone call from a number that started with 28.
The callers claimed to be from Eslite Bookstore and wanted to know what Yang thought about If China Attacks (阿共打來怎麼辦), a book she purchased online in February, she said, adding that they promoted Chinese “united front” rhetoric.
Photo: Ling Mei-hsueh, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Digital Affairs on Monday launched an investigation to determine whether personal data were leaked in the incident.
NCC Deputy Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that 28 is not a valid country code and the number has been blocked.
“We have been blocking scam calls that begin with Taiwan’s country code, 886, but we should also be blocking calls that do not have a valid country code,” Wong said.
The commission is to discuss with telecoms how to filter such calls without compromising the exchange efficiency, he said.
Eslite Bookstore on Monday said in a statement that it has reported the data security breach to the police and pledged to comply with the government’s investigation into the incident.
Separately, Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co yesterday warned about scam messages that spoof the company’s name.
“Some drivers received text messages that appeared to have been sent by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection about unpaid parking fees,” the company said. “The messages read: ‘We want to remind you that you have an unpaid parking fee of NT$45. The fine for failing to pay before the due date would be NT$300. Please enter the last three digits of your phone number, click on the link and make the payments.’”
“We do not send such messages, because people who use eTags to pay parking fees pay automatically via credit card,” it said.
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