From Monday next week, people who receive telephone calls on landlines from numbers that begin with +886 9 are to hear a seven-second alert informing them that it is an international call and could be a scam, the National Communications Commission said yesterday.
The service is offered free of charge by Chunghwa Telecom, which has a 93 percent share of Taiwan’s landline market.
The measure is part of the government’s efforts to curb telephone scams, as fraudsters often work from offshore call centers, the commission said.
Photo: Ting Yi, Taipei Times
Since May, the commission has been working with telecoms to block calls that begin with +886 0-8, it said.
From next week, people with subscriptions to the landline service of Chunghwa Telecom who receive a call from such numbers would hear an alert telling them it is an international call and could be a scam, the commission said, adding that the alert would be made in Mandarin and Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese).
The duration of the alert is 6.5 to 7 seconds, and subscribers would not be charged for listening to it, it said.
The alert can be skipped by pressing any number on the keypad, the commission said.
People who regularly receive international calls can apply to have the alert deactivated, it said.
All five telecoms in Taiwan — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone Telecommunications, Asia-Pacific Telecom and Taiwan Star Telecom — from the end of October would offer the same service to mobile phone service subscribers, the commission said.
Telecoms would need to procure equipment to make the service available to mobile users, it said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese