20260111 Telekom "branded calls"

Telekom wants to protect against fraud

To combat fraud via telephone calls, Telekom is currently introducing "branded calls". In addition to the caller's number, the caller's name is also displayed if it is available in the telephone data. This should always be the case for companies. Since telephone fraudsters usually pretend to be companies, this should help.

Telekom is making this "effort" because more and more people are no longer answering the phone when it rings if the number appears to be unknown. This "unanswered call dilemma" now affects 80% of calls, according to an international study. Telekom has also recognized this as damaging to business.

Unfortunately, telephone scams are no longer a rarity. According to deutschlandfunknova.de, the Federal Network Agency received more than 154,000 complaints about telephone number abuse in 2024. The actual number is certainly more than ten times higher, as only a few people bother to fill out the complaint form at the Federal Network Agency.

How do telephone scams work?

With caller ID spoofing, callers fake their own outgoing phone number and pretend to be local companies, banks, or authorities. Of course, the telephone provider's software can still recognize that they are not calling from this phone number and will not verify such calls.