The Texto SMS Gratuit team
19 July 2026 · 7 min read
On 22 January 2026, Arcep (France's electronic communications regulator) adopted Decision No. 2026-0113-RDPI: the opening of an administrative investigation targeting every electronic communications operator that holds numbers from the French national numbering plan. Behind the administrative jargon, this is a strong — and unusual — signal from the regulator: the major French operators (Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free) and all the other holders of numbering blocks are now in the crosshairs, suspected of not taking the fight against caller ID spoofing seriously enough. Here is what is going on, and what it concretely changes for anyone who uses a phone — or sends a free SMS online through a service like ours.
Photo: Unsplash — behind every incoming call or SMS, a number that can be spoofed in seconds.
Why an investigation, and why now?
The context is well known: for several years now, French users have been receiving more and more fraudulent calls and SMS messages where the displayed number mimics that of a bank, a public agency, a relative or a delivery driver. These massive campaigns almost always rely on the same trick: showing the recipient a number that is not the one actually calling.
The figures from the "J'alerte l'Arcep" reporting platform, published in early 2026, are staggering:
- 2023: 531 reports of spoofed numbers.
- 2024: around 8,500 reports.
- 2025: more than 19,000 reports, a 36-fold increase in two years.
Caller ID spoofing is now the leading reason for reports sent to the regulator, ahead of fibre outages and billing disputes.
The MAN, an obligation already in force
To tackle this plague, the law of 24 July 2020 and a series of Arcep decisions gradually made the MAN — Number Authentication Mechanism mandatory. The MAN cryptographically signs the calling number so that the destination operator can verify, end to end, that the number is genuine.
The rollout has been deliberately progressive:
| Date | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 1 October 2024 | MAN generalisation for French landline numbers |
| 1 January 2025 | Extension to French mobile numbers |
| 1 January 2026 | Mandatory masking of any non-authenticated French mobile number coming from abroad (with a derogation for Saint-Martin until 1 January 2028) |
On paper, since 1 January 2026, any call or SMS received in France that presents a mobile number in +33 that has not been correctly signed by the originating operator should in theory appear as masked on the recipient's screen, just like a "private number". It is precisely this obligation that is now at the heart of the investigation.
What exactly is Arcep accusing operators of?
The investigation, opened under Article L. 32-4 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE), aims to:
- Identify the origin and routing patterns of spoofed calls, from the originating operator all the way to the end recipient, including international transit carriers.
- Spot the operators that, knowingly or through lack of control, allow fraudulent calls to pass through their networks.
- Check compliance with authentication (MAN) and masking obligations for non-compliant numbers.
- Carry out on-site inspections where needed, with powers to seize documents and interview operators.
Arcep is not singling out any one operator: the decision targets "electronic communications operators holding numbers from the national numbering plan", which means all holders of 01 to 05, 06, 07, 09, etc. blocks. In practice this covers the four major networks (Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free), but also MVNOs (La Poste Mobile, NRJ Mobile, Prixtel, Syma, etc.) and even professional operators that hold numbering blocks.
What are the operators risking?
Article L. 32-4 of the CPCE allows Arcep to order any measure necessary to put an end to a breach of public order or consumer interests. Practically, if the investigation finds shortcomings, the regulator can:
- issue formal notices (injunctions to comply);
- order technical changes to the platforms;
- and, as a last resort, impose financial penalties running into millions of euros, or even a temporary withdrawal of numbering allocations.
For an operator, losing a numbering block is potentially more costly than the fine itself: it blocks the activation of new customer lines and badly damages the brand image.
What changes for the user
In the short term, the most visible effect for the general public is the reinforcement of masking for non-authenticated numbers. Since January 2026, many users have already noticed that calls which used to display a fake French number like +33 6 XX XX XX XX now appear as "number masked" or "international number", with the real foreign country prefix. This is a sign that the MAN is starting to be effectively deployed.
In the medium term, the investigation could lead to:
- a reduction in the number of fraudulent calls and SMS received in France;
- a weakening of smishing (SMS phishing), which we already covered in our article SMS scams in 2026: how to spot smishing and report it;
- a clarification of the masked-number landscape: a masked number will no longer automatically mean a scam, but simply a call that could not be authenticated.
What about SMS?
The MAN also applies to SMS. This is a critical point for services like ours, which send messages from French numbers: a signed and authenticated SMS is today far less likely to be filtered, blocked or classified as spam by destination operators than an unsigned SMS. Conversely, fraudulent SMS spoofing a bank, an administration or a delivery company should, over time, be rejected at source by filtering platforms.
For users who still receive suspicious SMS, the right reflex remains the same:
- Do not click on any link.
- Forward the SMS to 33 700 (free), the national reporting platform.
- Delete the message once reported.
The more reports you send, the more data Arcep has to back its investigation and identify the routing paths that fraudsters rely on.
Recap timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 24 July 2020 | Law mandating caller number authentication |
| 1 October 2024 | MAN becomes mandatory for landlines |
| 1 January 2025 | MAN extended to mobiles |
| 1 January 2026 | Mandatory masking of non-authenticated mobile numbers coming from abroad |
| 22 January 2026 | Arcep adopts Decision No. 2026-0113-RDPI |
| 29 January 2026 | Public announcement of the administrative investigation |
| 2026 - 2027 | Information gathering, on-paper and on-site checks, follow-up |
| Upcoming | First findings, possible injunctions or sanctions |
To follow the progress of the investigation, you can check Arcep's practical guide on fraudulent SMS and calls, and for any practical question about sending SMS, our FAQ or the contact page.
Bottom line: with more than 19,000 reports of spoofed numbers in 2025 and the entry into force of the mandatory masking of non-authenticated numbers, Arcep has decided it is no longer willing to just watch. By investigating operators directly, the regulator is sending a clear message: the industry now has to prove that it is taking the issue seriously. For users, this is good news: if the MAN is properly deployed, 2026 and 2027 should mark a lasting turning point in the fight against fraudulent calls and SMS in France.
