The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has launched an initiative to help the public identify scam text messages in the hope of limiting the damage done to consumers and businesses in Ireland.
The regulator states that research estimates that scam texts are costing consumers and businesses in Ireland €115 million per year, a development that is “seriously undermining the SMS communications channel in Ireland, with consumers and organisations losing trust in SMS”.
ComReg has launched a registry of organisations that send text messages to customers, such as banks, medical organisations, delivery companies, schools and clubs to register their SMS sender IDs.
The Registry is a secure repository of registered SMS sender IDs, along with sender ID owners (organisations using SMS sender IDs) and participating mobile service providers.
From July 3 this year, SMS messages from unregistered sender IDs will be marked as “Likely Scam” to alert the recipient that the text may not be authentic.
From 3 October 2025, these messages will be blocked.
The registry is one of a number of anti-scam measures being put in place, with an estimated overall net financial benefit of all the interventions of approximately €1.2 billion by 2030, according to ComReg.