The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today confirmed that it will ban UK phone operators from leasing Global Titles (GTs) – numbers like +44 (for the U
Tuesday, Apr 22nd, 2025 (10:23 am) - Score 2,000 nited Kingdom) that support mobile services – to third parties. Sadly, such leasing can be misused to try and intercept messages and calls, disrupt the operation of networks and track the location of users of other networks. According to Ofcom, a small number of operators have been leasing their Global Title numbers to third parties, which can also be done to facilitate the provision of legitimate mobile services. But the regulator has previously found that this can make it easier for bad actors to abuse the system. As a result, +44 Global Titles are "one of the most significant and persistent sources of malicious signalling" – an issue that affects mobile networks globally. NOTE: Global Titles are used to send and receive signals that help locate and connect mobile phone users to networks and to one another. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is also aware that +44 Global Titles have been exploited for malicious purposes, such as location tracking and the interception of SMS (text messages) used for 2-step verification (2SV) to target both UK residents and populations globally. Advertisement The fact that those who intend to cause harm can lease, rather than own, these numbers mean that they can also hide their identities with greater ease, allowing them to "work in the shadow of legitimate…