France clamps down on cold calling in bid to reduce harassment and scams

France’s parliament voted to ban cold calling by companies without explicit consent this week. But will it work and how can we avoid scam calls?

Transcript

00:00How to escape nuisance phone calls

00:07We all know the feeling, your phone rings in your pocket and you answer, only for it

00:11to be someone trying to sell you a new deal for your Wi-Fi.

00:14Well, if French MPs have their way, cold calls like this will be a thing of the past.

00:19France's parliament adopted new rules on Monday to ban unsolicited sales calls from

00:23companies.

00:24Customers will opt in if they want to be contacted, instead of having to opt out.

00:29The MP who proposed the law hopes this will lead to a reduction in unwanted calls and

00:33scams.

00:34The Ecologist and Socialist group has sought above all to be useful, to be useful to defend

00:41the citizens who are subjected to scams and frauds that are unbearable and that pose

00:50a prejudice to the indispensable transformation of the country, especially in terms of energy

00:58sobriety.

00:59However, not everyone is convinced it will have much of an effect.

01:03The problem is not to ban the process, but rather to know how the call centers have

01:11our information and why they use them in this regard.

01:14We realize that without this data, without information on the people they are going to

01:19call, they cannot contact us.

01:21So the question I ask myself is, what is going to change?

01:25Will the call centers stop calling people overnight?

01:30No.

01:31It is not a law that will prevent this, these call centers are based abroad.

01:35In the meantime, there are ways to protect yourself against scam calls.

01:39Experts say to be wary of all calls you receive, never give out your bank details or PIN over

01:43the phone, and be conscious of pressure tactics where the caller says you owe money or need

01:48to act quickly.