Starting Monday next week, Chunghwa Telecom’s (CHT) mobile phone service users would hear a seven-second audio warning in Mandarin and Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), if they received calls from unknown numbers, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
The telecom company introduced the service as phone scammers often hide their phone number to avoid being traced, NCC Secretary-General Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the audio warning is designed to alert people about possibly fraudulent phone calls.
Phone calls by unknown numbers account for about 10 percent of the telephone traffic, with 99. 6 percent of recipients being mobile phone users, the commission said, citing data from telecoms and the National Police Agency.
Photo: Taipei Times
Chunghwa Telecom is to begin a trial of the service on Monday, which would be available to its 17 million mobile phone users, including those subscribing to its 4G and 5G services, Huang said.
The service is expected to become available to users of Taiwan Mobile and Far Eastone Telecommunications during the first half of this year, he added.
The audio warning includes a message saying: “Beware, this call is from an unknown number,” in Mandarin, followed the same warning in Hoklo, the NCC said.
The company would absorb the fee for the seven-second warning, the NCC said.
Users can proceed to the call after hearing the warning or press any key to skip it, it said.
Calls from government agencies should not come from unknown numbers except for few agencies handling confidential or sensitive information, it said.
“We thank the three telecoms for taking their corporate responsibility. They are important partners to the government in helping the country advance and maintain social order,” Huang said.
The commission began tackling phone scams in 2023 by first demanding telecoms to filter phone calls from +886 0 to +886 8 numbers on landlines and mobile phones. Starting from July 2023, landline users hear a scam warning when they receive calls from numbers beginning with +886 9.
Starting from September 2023, landline users hear a scam warning whenever they receive calls from overseas, regardless of the number.
Meanwhile, mobile phone users will also receive scam warnings for calls from numbers beginning with +886 9, the commission said.
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