Estonia plans to require operators to block spoofed calls from abroad

Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta submitted a draft law this week for consultation that would require telecommunications companies to block incoming calls from abroad that spoof Estonian numbers. The changes are expected to take effect in March 2027. Major operators such as Telia, Tele2 and Elisa already have the necessary solutions in place, but the law would primarily affect smaller companies operating in the market.

Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta submitted a draft law for consultation this week aimed at amending the Electronic Communications Act and two government regulations governing the telecommunications sector. The changes are intended to make telephone-based financial fraud more difficult and protect Estonian residents from fraudulent calls originating abroad.

What will change

According to the draft law, telecommunications companies will be required to block incoming calls from abroad in which the caller uses a so-called spoofing method-imitating an Estonian phone number to create the impression that the call is coming from within Estonia. Additionally, operators must implement filters to prevent such calls from reaching Estonian number users.

"Voice traffic refers to communication between two identified parties, not a situation where one participant is at an unknown location and uses a spoofed number, creating the impression that the call is coming from within Estonia. Such cases are subject to immediate restriction or prohibition under the law," Pakosta explained.

The draft law also clarifies the concept of voice traffic, defined as two-way communication, encompassing call initiation, transmission, termination or routing. The minister stressed that the main goal of the legislative amendment is to restrict fraudulent calls and SMS messages originating from abroad that use spoofed sender identifiers.

Major operators already have solutions in place

Pakosta acknowledged that Estonia's three largest operators-Telia, Tele2 and Elisa-already have the necessary technical solutions. The draft law would primarily affect smaller service providers: in addition to the three major operators, 27 smaller companies are active in the Estonian market.

However, the minister conceded that even with all technical measures in place, it is not possible to completely stop fraudulent calls. "Unfortunately, criminals keep finding new and new ways. We must monitor suspicious traffic and technical solutions and filter telephone traffic against new possible threats," Pakosta said. She added that once the law is adopted, market conditions would become equal for all service providers.

According to the plan, the changes are expected to take effect in March 2027.