The Communications Regulator, ComReg, has announced plans to tackle scam phone calls from international numbers.
Phone users in Ireland have reported a big increase in scam calls from UK numbers with the prefix +44 in recent months.
The calls often involve an automated voice claiming to be from a recruitment firm or retailer.
ComReg said a "voice firewall" will be deployed in the first half of 2026.
"The impact of the voice firewall should provide an important defence against scam calls, notably including those which spoof international numbers," ComReg said in an update on scam call interventions.
"This is a dynamic intervention that uses advanced real time call data analytics and machine learning to detect and act upon unusual patterns of call signalling data, traffic volumes and call originating location," the regulator said.
ComReg said that previous interventions from February 2023 to October 2025 have blocked over 131 million scam calls, with over 18 million calls blocked in September 2025 alone.
The regulator is advising phone users to remain vigilant.
"Scammers use software to call or text a range of numbers at the same time and then note which are answered," according to a ComReg information note on the issue.
"Answered numbers are recorded as genuine in-use numbers and may be sold on the internet to other cybercriminals," it said.
Cybersecurity expert says best defence is 'not to engage'
Chief Information Security Officer with cybersecurity company Stryve Paul Delahunty, has said that the biggest defence against scam calls is "not to engage".
Speaking to RTÉ's Six One News, Mr Delahunty said that the whole country is being inundated at the moment with scam calls.
He said scammers build a campaign, pretending to be a bank, Revenue or An Post, potentially using a masked number, meaning that the calls are not coming from the country it says it is.
Mr Delahunty stressed that people are more vulnerable this time of year and that scammers are aware of that, knowing that most people have a parcel being delivered to their home.
He said that if a scammer sends out enough scam calls or texts, someone will believe and click the link and give something away, whether financial or personal data, that the scammer wants.
He advised to block the number and report it to the network, and never call the number back.
He said that it is important to take a "zero trust attitude", to stop and ask yourself whether it feels right or makes sense.
He said that ComReg and network operators has stopped millions of calls in recent years and is now using AI in a positive and smart way in trying to cut the issue at source.
He added that he is optimistic but "there’s no one silver bullet that anyone can use that will stop everything, it’s about defence and layers".
