COMPANIES MUST NOW add themselves to a register if they want to send texts to customers without them being flagged as a scam.

Some 8,000 companies have signed up to the communications regulator’s new scheme.

Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS messages often include a SMS Sender ID to indicate who sent the message. It’s usually the name of the company or organisation.

From today, ComReg must be made aware of the ID, otherwise texts sent will be flagged to recipients as ‘Likely Scam’.

The move aims to crackdown on the widespread problem of text scams, where bad actors masquerade as legitimate services, to try to get members of the public to click unsafe links or send money.

Europe Economics estimates over €300 million is lost each year by Irish consumers and businesses targeted by scam calls and texts. 

If someone receives a message that says ‘Likely Scam’, this may be because the sender hasn’t yet registered their ID. ComReg has urged all recipients to double check directly with the company or organisation before engaging.

However, from 3 October this year, text messages from unregistered SMS Sender IDs will be blocked automatically, so users won’t get them. 

ComReg says companies and organisations need to register before then in order to avoid being blocked.