Ofcom fines UK phone company £437,500 for letting scammers use its numbers
Key Points
- Ofcom fined Tismi £437,500 for failing to stop number misuse
- Around 366,000 numbers sat exposed to scammers for over two years
- Tismi skipped customer checks, monitoring and misuse reporting processes
- Ofcom ordered Tismi to block certain numbers in June 2025
- Ofcom has opened a new investigation into Xtra Phones UK
Ofcom fined telecoms provider Tismi £437,500 on Wednesday (21 October) after finding it left around 366,000 phone numbers open to misuse by scammers.
The regulator said Tismi had no appropriate or proportionate measures in place to stop customers misusing numbers between at least November 2022 and January 2025.
Ofcom allocates telephone numbers in large blocks to telecoms providers, which can then pass them on to individuals and other businesses.
Under Ofcom’s numbering rules and industry guidance, providers must take steps to ensure the businesses and individuals receiving those numbers do not use them for scam calls and texts.
The regulator expects providers to carry out “know your customer” checks on business customers to stop scammers getting hold of valid numbers in the first place.
Providers must also monitor the risk each business customer poses, watch for signs of misuse and act on any incidents reported to them.
Ofcom’s investigation found that Tismi failed on all three counts, exposing a significant number of consumers to potential harm for over two years.
The company handed out numbers to its customers without carrying out proper due diligence to prevent misuse, including for scams.
It also failed to monitor whether anyone was misusing those numbers and lacked the systems and processes to identify and deal with non-compliance.
Tismi had no formal documented process for handling reports of misuse, falling short of the expectations in Ofcom’s Good Practice Guide.
Ofcom directed Tismi to block certain numbers in June 2025 to stop scammers from using them further, and the company put the block in place. The £437,500 fine will go to HM Treasury.
Ofcom is also requiring Tismi to prove its compliance going forward by providing details of its due diligence process, ongoing monitoring and how it responds to reports of misuse under its new policies.
“There’s no excuse for communications providers failing to put in the proper checks and balances to prevent numbers being misused. Today we’re sending a clear message to industry that any company that puts customers at the mercy of scammers will face the consequences,” said George Lusty, Director of Enforcement at Ofcom.
Xtra Phones UK under investigation
Ofcom also opened a new investigation into Xtra Phones UK on Wednesday over concerns that someone is misusing telephone numbers the company holds.
The investigation forms part of Ofcom’s enforcement programme targeting phone and text scams, which aims to protect consumers and ensure providers follow its rules on phone numbers.
The regulator recently launched a Consumer Hub on its website offering tips on protecting yourself from scams, alongside money-saving advice, help with common service problems and routes to complain.
