Telephone surveys continue to poison the lives of the French. Fortunately, companies are now required to use very specific prefixes. Here is the list of numbers to block to finally have peace of mind.

We are constantly contacted by pollsters of all kinds. Some want to sell us hearing aids, mutual insurance or complex insurance. Others try to get us to change operators by promising us a more advantageous box or mobile plan. But that's not the worst. The “advisers” also do their best to defraud us over the phone with diabolical tricks such as the Personal Training Account (CPF) scam.

In France, telephone prospecting is particularly developed. Of the 243 billion calls made in 2023, 10% are scams or spam, according to the company Hiya. Faced with this scourge, fortunately there are some tips to keep invasive resellers away as much as possible. We tell you everything!

Also Read: How to Effectively Block Unwanted Calls and Texts?

📞What are the new rules governing telephone polling?

Since Wednesday, March 1, 2023, the rules on cold calling have been tightened. These are the new rules in force in France:

• Only commercial calls are allowed during the week at the following times: From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.. It is prohibited to carry out scrutiny on weekends and holidays.
• A company does not have the right to try to contact anyone. more than four times a month.
• When the consumer refuses to carry out the survey, the call center must wait 60 days before trying to contact him again.

All consumers are concerned, whether or not they are registered on Bloctel's list. However, the regulations do not apply if you have expressly authorized the company to contact you. Violators risk a fine of €75,000 (natural person) or €375,000 (legal entity).

However, the new rules are largely insufficient, according to consumer protection associations. The UFC-Que Choisir particularly regrets that polling is authorized during nine-hour periods and that a company has the right to contact you four times a month. Report a “extent”, Instead, the association is campaigning to ban unsolicited surveys entirely. by phone.

Meanwhile, the State does not hesitate to act. At the end of June 2023, the Paris Departmental Directorate for Population Protection sanctioned the company BIG YIPSYLON. She was fined 44,000 euros for violating several articles of the Consumer Code:

• Approaching customers by phone without sending them confirmation of your offer.
• Failure to obtain the express agreement of the contacted clients for immediate provision of the service, before the withdrawal period expires.

📱Which numbers should be blocked to counteract cold calling?

From January 1, 2023, commercial prospecting platforms no longer have the right to contact you with numbers starting with 06 or 07, which are the prerogative of individuals. Therefore, companies must use the following prefixes:

• Metropolitan France: 0162, 0163, 0270, 0271, 0377, 0378, 0424, 0425, 0568, 0569, 0948, 0949
• Guadeloupe, St-Martin, St-Barthélemy :09475
• Guiana: 09476
• Martinique :09477
• Reunion, Mayotte: 09478, 09479

Now you will be able to identify very clearly if a call comes from a direct seller. And block or ignore it without fear of missing an important call. Please note that the prefixes 09 37 to 09 39 It can be used for specific connections. Parcel delivery drivers, food delivery drivers and VTC drivers can use these numbers to contact you. When a service is likely to contact you, don't be afraid to cold call and answer.

Read > Government announces SMS anti-scam filter by 2023, here's what you need to know

In 2016, the government launched an opposition telephone list called Bloctel. Its principle? People can enter their phone number for free so they are no longer contacted. Professionals are prohibited from contacting a person who is registered on the list. Consequently, violators risk receiving a fine of €75,000 (natural person) and €375,000 (Moral person).

There is, however, exceptions. These professionals still have the right to contact you despite your registration on the list:

• Newspaper suppliers
• Electoral institutes
• Non-profit associations
• Companies with which you have a current contract
• Companies that you have expressly authorized to contact you

To register on Bloctel:

• Meeting on the official Bloctel website.
• Click the blue button creat your account.
• Complete the following information: name, name, email address, password and especially the phone number that you want to register.
• Read them and accept them CGU.
• Read the personal data management policy.
• Click on Validate the form.

According to a study by the General Directorate of Competition, Consumer Affairs and the Fight against Fraud (DGCCRF) published at the end of 2022, advisors continue to contact certain people despite being registered with Bloctel. If the service isn't perfect, it should help you feel less overwhelmed by business prospecting.

🤔 What are the alternatives to Bloctel?

Orange Phone

Are you still receiving calls despite being registered on the Bloctel list? There are several alternative tools like Orange Telephone. Available on Android and iOS, the application is not the prerogative of the operator's customers. Once downloaded, it will filter cold calls by rejecting them or clearly indicating that it is a probable sales call. To do this, it will search its large database that is updated periodically.

Very honorable mention for Free Mobile which also benefits from a very efficient service. Enjoy :

• Sign in to your Customer area > My services > Call and SMS/MMS filter.
• You will then be able to enter prefixes to ban.
• Indicate the prefixes dedicated to the campaign to have peace.

Read > WhatsApp: a new function will allow you to block all calls from unknown numbers

Samsung Smart Call

There are also some pretty handy native features on Android smartphones. As in the Galaxy that benefits from Samsung Smart Call:

• Open the application Phone then click on the three small vertical dots.
• Access Settings.
• Activate the function Incoming call identification and spam protection.
• Activate it Block unwanted calls and scammers.

Call screen on Google Pixel

The Google Pixel also benefits from a filtering function called Call Screen:

• Go to app settings Phone.
• Open the section Caller ID and spam.
• Enable the option Filter unwanted calls.
• When you call, press Filter the call.
• Google Assistant will screen the call and ask who is calling and why.
• Then you will have a transcription of your correspondent's response.
• Then you can send a suggested answer, get up EITHER hang.

Bonus: Jolly Roger phone

Jolly Roger Telephone is an awesome tool that allows you to respond to direct sellers for you. Powered by AI, the system is capable of reproducing human voices to waste the time of your overly insistent correspondents. The only downside is that the robots are only offered in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand at the moment.