New French rules on sales calls began in August, but readers say spam calls continue, especially from scammers. Here is what they report and what helps.
Spam calls are still reaching phones in France, even after new cold-calling rules took effect in August. Readers of The Connexion, an outlet covering life in France, report mixed results. Some say the calls dropped. Others say they got worse.
The rules aim to reduce unwanted sales calls from legitimate French businesses. They are not designed to stop scammers, especially those calling from overseas. Some of those callers hide their true location and show a fake French number on the screen, which makes it harder for law enforcement to act.
One reader, identified as GF, shared a screenshot of seven calls from +33 numbers over four days. +33 is France's international dialing code. Each call was flagged as suspected spam. He said spam can make a phone nearly useless because it causes people to miss important calls.
Another reader said the calls stopped for a couple of weeks when the law came in, then returned in earnest. A third said most calls are nearly all AI, meaning artificial intelligence. Some readers now ignore any call with an unknown caller ID and let callers leave a voicemail. The material does not include figures showing whether the overall number of calls has fallen.
Scammers are increasingly using AI to contact victims. The signs of an AI call include:
Silent calls can be part of schemes in which fraudsters steal voices and identities.
Block any number that calls and says nothing. Never share personal details or banking information over the phone. One reader said letting unknown calls ring out reduced the number somewhat, on the theory that declining a call tells scammers the line is live. That is a reader's account, not a proven fix.
Several readers recommend Saracroche, a free app built to block unwanted calls. After you install it and switch on blocking, it downloads a list of known scam numbers and stores it on the phone. It then blocks calls automatically without needing an internet connection. Its developer, Camille Bouvat, said the app keeps almost no data to protect privacy, so he has no detailed statistics. He said many users report 10 to 20 blocked calls a day. One reader said the calls stopped overnight. Another said none have come since installing it.
Fraudulent calls and spam messages can also be reported through the 33700 service.
Block silent callers, never give bank details by phone, and consider a call-blocking app such as Saracroche, since the new rules have not ended spam.
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