Ofcom investigates Vonage and Voxbone over suspected number misuse
The regulator is testing whether the two providers did enough to stop scammers using numbers passed on from their ranges. It has made no finding against either company
- Ofcom says it will gather further information and give an update on both investigations in due course
- Providers must also make sure numbers are used in line with the National Telephone Numbering Plan
- Any further investigations will be published on Ofcom's enforcement bulletin page
- Ericsson completed its acquisition of Vonage in July 2022
Businesses that get phone numbers through a cloud telephony provider should expect more questions before new numbers are issued, whatever these cases conclude. That is likely to mean identity and use-case checks, slower provisioning and contract clauses allowing a provider to suspend numbers linked to reported misuse. Customers relying on inbound numbers for sales or support should keep their business details current and ask their provider how it would handle a suspension, including notice and porting rights.
Ofcom opened two separate investigations on 24 September into Vonage Business Limited and Voxbone SA, over concerns that telephone numbers held by the companies are being misused, including for scams. The investigations will establish whether each company complied with General Condition B1, which covers the effective and efficient use of numbers and the steps providers take to oversee how they are used. Ofcom has not found that either company broke its rules.
Ofcom allocates numbers to telecoms providers, usually in large blocks, and those providers can pass them on to businesses and individuals. Under Ofcom's numbering rules and industry guidance, the original holder must take appropriate steps to stop numbers being misused further down that chain. Ofcom says it expects providers to run know-your-customer checks on business customers before they get numbers, to keep each customer's risk under review and to respond to reported misuse.
The regulator says it has gathered information that raised concerns about numbers allocated to the two companies. Both cases sit within its enforcement program on phone and text scams, and Ofcom says it may open further investigations if it has reasonable grounds to suspect other companies have broken its rules.
Sources
- Ofcom, “Ofcom launches investigations into whether two telecoms companies failed to prevent misuse of their phone numbers by scammers”, news release, 24 September 2026. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/ofcom-launches-investigations-into-whether-two-telecoms-companies-failed-to-prevent-misuse-of-their-phone-numbers-by-scammers
- Ericsson, “Ericsson completes acquisition of Vonage”, press release, 21 July 2022. https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2022/7/ericsson-completes-acquisition-of-vonage
