< IMG SRC = "/Uploads/Blogs/A9/1F/IB-FRLTFL6un_DF4A499E.jpg" ALT = "spam-attacks in Ukraine: how mass mailing work and how to protect themselves"/> ~ ~ ~ ~ < p > Numbers, automatic calls, databases & nbsp; & mdash; Like & nbsp; telephone spam and & nbsp; which loopholes use companies.

< p > Millions & nbsp; Ukrainians & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; rsquo; rsquo; ryquo; They come from & nbsp; unfamiliar numbers, offer goods, surveys or even gambling. Although it & nbsp; looks like & nbsp; chaotic spam, for & nbsp; this stands an entire industry with & nbsp; clear work mechanics.

~ ~ > < p > about it & nbsp; reported & nbsp; economic truth.

< P > Modern technologies allow companies for & nbsp; a few minutes to send thousands of messages or make mass calls. For this purpose, special platforms are used that adjust the mailing time, the text of the message and & nbsp; even voice scenarios. Often subscribers get not & nbsp; a live call, but & nbsp; recorded or synthesized voice.

< h2 id = "gen44089a" > how & nbsp; working legal companies

< p >In & nbsp; Ukraine operates a whole industry of companies specializing in & nbsp; massive calls and & nbsp; messages. They offer software solutions for collector, IP telephony for business and & nbsp; state-owned, and & nbsp; also tools for communications automation. However, not & nbsp; all with & nbsp; they work legally.

< p >& laquo; when we & nbsp; we connect a new client, then & nbsp; ov & rsquo; we verify the organization, with & rsquo; rsquo; we clarify the purpose and & Nbsp; Nbsp; Nbsp. All calls are processed in accordance with & nbsp; safety requirements and & nbsp; legislation. We & nbsp; conduct complete logic (fixation), bilingual (calculating the cost of these events) and & nbsp; recording of conversations. The & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; bdquo; bdquo; black list & ldquo;,, which can block further calls on & nbsp; number, if the subscriber is not & nbas; nbas; The head of the VOIPTIME marketing department Tatiana Gonchar noted.

< h2 id = "gen52f263" > & laquo; gray & raquo; Players on & nbsp; market

< p > on & nbsp; a difference from legal operators that act transparent, & laquo; Siri & raquo; Players often work without licenses, use illegal databases, GSM trays and & nbsp; replace numbers, masking calls under official.

< p > on & nbsp; the lowest level in & nbsp; this industry are & nbsp; & mdash; fraudulent call centers and & nbsp; organized groups that massively call subscribers or send SMS to lift money. They easily hide their activities, in particular due to the technology of numbers that & nbsp; complicates them & nbsp; detection.

< p >Separate threat & nbsp; & mdash; Telephone Flud when the victim receives continuous spam calls. Even if a person rejects the call, the attack continues, completely blocking the phone. This is & nbsp; reminiscent of DDOS-Atacus in & nbsp; cyberspace, but concerns mobile zob & rsquo; ~

< p > A similar mechanism is used and & nbsp; with & nbsp; sms. For & nbsp; nbsp; the attackers adjust the automatic generation of requests on & nbsp; nbsp; platforms that & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; such as banks, marketers). In & nbsp; the result of the user's phone literally & laquo; tone & raquo; in & nbsp; spam. Yes, on & nbsp; early 2024 & nbsp; year employees forbes Ukraine became victims of such an attack, receiving hundreds of unnecessary SMS for & nbsp; short period of time.

~ ~ ~ < p > Despite & nbsp; availability of laws that manage the telecommunications sector in & nbsp; Ukraine, in & nbsp; they can be traced.

< H2 ID = "Gen323532" > Legislative Regulation < p > in & nbsp; Ukraine is not & nbsp; nbsp; there is a single regulatory act that would & nbsp; nbsp; clearly regulates mass calls and & nbsp; SMS. The activities of companies in & nbsp; this area are limited only by individual laws and & nbsp; regulatory decisions. Among them & nbsp; & mdash; laws & laquo; on electronic communications & raquo ;, & laquo; about advertising & raquo; and & nbsp; & laquo; on personal data protection & raquo;, a & nbsp; nbsp; the National Commission's Solutions with & Nbsp; Electronic Communications (NCEC) and & Nbsp; National Bank that influence on & and & nbsp; collection companies.

< p > To understand control mechanisms, it is worth considering mass communications through three aspects:

< Ul > < li > < p > the fact of sending a message or call

< li > < p >The data collection method is

< li > < p > The content of the message

< p > for & nbsp; by current legislation, companies have the right to call or send SMS, but only for & nbsp; a clear customer consent. This consent is often received when filling out the questionnaires, ordering or registering on & nbsp; sites. However, many people do not & nbsp; reading conditions and & nbsp; automatically agree, putting the mark in & nbsp; corresponding field.

< p > However, there is no consent or the number has been provided for other purposes (for example, for delivery only), the company is not & nbsp; has the right to use it for advertising. Law & laquo; about electronic communications & raquo; defines spam as & nbsp; mass mailing without consent of the recipient. If the subscriber has received over P & Rsquo; messages & nbsp; & mdash; This & nbsp; already violations.

< p >However, companies have the right to call customers an unlimited number of times & nbsp; & mdash; This & nbsp; not & nbsp; contradicts law.

< H2 ID = "GENCB7269" > Messages from government bodies & nbsp; & mdash; not & nbsp; limited to

< P > Messages from government agencies (SBU, SES) or mobile operators not & nbsp; is & nbsp; spam because they are sent to & nbsp; NBS; < p > Experts note that & nbsp; nvblab & rsquo; rsquo; sometimes binding & rsquo; ryquo; sms are sent to SMS subscribers, including mobilization that & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; often complains. It is known that & nbsp; not & nbsp; all such SMS are initiated by the state & nbsp; & mdash; part is & nbsp; a result of commercial transactions.

< p >From 2025 & nbsp; year in & nbsp; Ukraine is a ban on & nbsp; gambling advertising. But because of the ambiguity of law interpretation, each advertising case should be considered separately.

< h2 id = "genb0e15e" > how & nbsp; state controls collectors

< P > Regulation of collection activities in & nbsp; Ukraine is carried out for & nbsp; participation of key state institutions. The National Commission that & nbsp; regulation in & nbsp; the sphere of the SPUSE; RSQUO; Land, controls the number resource and & nbsp; nbsp; licenses, whereas & nbsp; the National Bank defines the standards of professional ethics for representatives of this sphere. < p > an important step in & nbsp; nbsp; the protection of citizens' rights was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada 2021 & nbsp; the year of the legislative act that & nbsp; nbsp; establishes clear rules of work with & nbsp; nbsp; overdue debt. From now on, only companies included in & Nbsp; NBU official register have the right to provide appropriate services.

< p >< b > The law strictly limits the methods of interaction with & nbsp; debtors: 0 ~/p > ~ > 62 > 62 > < Ul > < li > < p >It is forbidden to make more than two calls on & nbsp; day;

< li > < p > excluded any form of pressure, manipulation or process personal data without consent;

< li > < p > Limited communication in & nbsp; non -working time (holidays, weekends, night period);

< li > < P > It is forbidden to disclose debt information to third parties;

< li > < P > It is forbidden to hide information about yourself;

< li > < p > it is forbidden to require repayment from persons that & nbsp; not & nbsp; is & nbsp; party loan agreement;

~

< li > < P > prohibit the demand of debt from & nbsp; relatives or & nbsp; other persons who are not & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; its return, if it is & nbsp; not & nbsp; nbsp;

< H2 ID = "Genef9CA2" > What changes can improve legislation

< p >In & nbsp; the world has long been used effective mechanisms for combating & nbsp; this phenomenon.

< p > & laquo; on & nbsp; state level, you need to introduce a do-not-calline & nbsp; & mdash; List, in & nbsp; which subscribers can voluntarily enter their numbers so that not & nbsp; receive advertising calls. This mechanism has long been working in & nbsp; the US, EU, UK and & nbsp; nbsp; allows you to effectively limit the Nau & Rsquo; ryquo; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp & raquo;, & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; considers CEO voiptime Bogdan Khomin.

< p > he added that & nbsp; the situation can be corrected if the binding & Rsquo; to be organized on & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; the beginning of the conversation to inform its name, the purpose of call and & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Such changes will make communication transparent and & nbsp; give people more control.

< p >& laquo; situation chaotic: subscribers' numbers move from & nbsp; databases in & nbsp; base, their & nbsp; nbsp; sell and & nbsp; There is no control or effective supervision. Maximum fine for & nbsp; violations & nbsp; & mdash; 8.5 thousand hryvnias. It is even difficult to charge, because & nbsp; the organ that is engaged in this & nbsp; & mdash; Ombudsman, & nbsp; & mdash; exercises parliamentary control and & nbsp; not & nbsp; has the powers of the executive branch of government & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; Expert from & nbsp; personal data protection issues Liliya Oleksiuk.

< p > MP Oleksandr Fedienko also added that & nbsp; stores, gas station and & nbsp; other companies often sell numbers.

< p >& laquo; people leave contacts, not & nbsp; thinking that & nbsp; with & nbsp; they will be further. For the Subfeeder's phone number & nbsp; & mdash; This & nbsp; still & nbsp; one product like & nbsp; sausage. Then these & nbsp; profiles fall to & nbsp; smm companies & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; Fedienko noted.

< P > Oleksiuk believes that & nbsp; Ukraine requires a separate state body that will provide effective supervision of & nbsp; compliance with the legislation in & nbsp; the field of personal data processing.

~ ~ ~ < p > & laquo; we & nbsp; we live in & nbsp; nbsp; the so -called gray zone: norms exist but no effective control. The new law on the protection of personal data would be & nbsp; nbsp; but it is so far & nbsp; not & nbsp; approved (draft law No. 6177 and & nbsp; №8153 & nbsp; & mdash; ep). Without this real protection in & nbsp; no & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; Expert said.

< p >Particularly threat is the databases that are actively sold in & nbsp; dart. The attackers use them & nbsp; for fraud and & nbsp; illegal advertising, and & nbsp; purchase the following data & nbsp; & mdash; Extremely simple.

< h2 id = "gen0Be19f" >0 > 62 ~ or & nbsp; can protect subscribers from spam ? 63 ~/b > 62 >/h2 > 62 > 62 > 62 ~ 62 < P > Representatives of the leading mobile operators of Ukraine confirm that & nbsp; fight against & nbsp; spam; spam has its boundaries & nbsp; & mdash; both & nbsp; technological and & nbsp; legal. Although companies take measures to protect subscribers, automatically lock all suspicious numbers remains impossible.

< p >< b > how & nbsp; the leading operators react: 0 ~/p > < Ul > < li > < p > & laquo; Kyivstar & raquo; takes action only after subscribers' complaints or with obvious violations.

< p >& laquo; like & nbsp; and & nbsp; any other operator, we & nbsp; duty & rsquo; rsquo; ultimately prevent abuse in & nbsp; networks. If the Subscriber's actions are harmful to other users or network, we & nbsp; we can limit or suspend service & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; noted the company's representatives.

< li > < p > Vodafone Ukraine notes that & nbsp; spams constantly changing numbers that & nbsp; complicates them & nbsp; detection.

~ ~ ~ < p > & laquo; not & nbsp; all calls can be clearly classified as & nbsp; spam, and & nbsp; we & nbsp; duty & Rsquo; on & nbsp; and & rsquo; liability & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; declared in & nbsp; vodafone.

< li > < p > in & nbsp; lifecell stated that & nbsp; automatic room lock is impossible. At the same time, the company develops a filtration system that should distinguish spam from legal calls including international numbers.

< p >& laquo; spammers use international or similar to & nbsp; familiar numbers that & nbsp; complicates identification. Effective locking requires significant investments in & nbsp; technologies, in particular in & nbsp; nbsp; number of numbers & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; It is in & nbsp; message.

< H2 ID = "Gend40580" > effective ways to protect against spam calls and & nbsp; sms

~ < P > If you are called from & nbsp; nbsp; goods or & nbsp; services, immediately specify the name of the company, the source of receipt of your number and & nbsp; clearly state that you are unwilling to receive further calls. In & nbsp; the case of ignoring your requirements should be addressed & nbsp; State Consumer Service & nbsp; & mdash; It is this body that is responsible for & nbsp; compliance with advertising laws. However, if calls come from illegal structures, affect & nbsp; more difficult.

< p >< b > where to go in & nbsp; a case of suspicious or fraudulent calls ?0 ~/b > 62 >/p > ~ ~ > 62 < Ul > < li > < p > Mobile operator.

< li > < p > Ombudsman.

< li > < P > Cyber ​​Police.

< p > for & nbsp; Fedienko, complaints about & nbsp; merchants; The regulator transmits a complaint to the operator who can block spam.

< P > & laquo; if in & nbsp; nbsp; operator services not & nbsp; nbsp; advertising messages are provided, and & nbsp; they come on & nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; NCEC with & nbsp; pleasure accepts such appeals. The more complaints, the more operators of & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; Fedienko said.

< p > for & nbsp; Fedienko's words, similar conditions only apply to clients on & nbsp; contract base.

< p >& laquo; contract users spam rarely. If this happens, and & nbsp; client not & nbsp; ordered this & nbsp; service, he has the right to file a NCEC complaint. Believe me: the reaction will be instant & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; added the People's Deputy.

< p >< b > that & nbsp; nbsp; offer operators ? 63 ~/b >0 ~/p > < Ul > < li > < p > & laquo; Kyivstar & raquo; & nbsp; & mdash; It is enough to contact your & nbsp; contact center to disable advertising & nbsp; sms.

< li > < p > vodafone & nbsp; & mdash; Service & laquo; suspicious number & raquo; (15 UAH/month) blocks most unknown calls.

< P > Modern phones have built -in spam protection functions:

< Ul > < li > < p > for Android

< P > Standard Google Protection:

< Ol > < li > < p > Open the application & laquo; phone & raquo;.

< li > < p > go to & nbsp; settings (three dots).

< li > < p > Turn & laquo; subscriber ID and & nbsp; spam & raquo; and & nbsp; & laquo; filter spam calls & raquo;.

< Ul > < li > < p > for Samsung:

< p > Use hiya & nbsp; & mdash; Turn on the filtration in & nbsp; call settings or room lock.

< Ul > < li > < p > for iPhone (iOS 13+)

< Ol > < li > < p > Come u & nbsp; settings & rarr; Phone.

< li > < P > Turn on & laquo; to plug unknown numbers & raquo; & nbsp; & mdash; Such calls will fall into & nbsp; voice mail.

< li > < P > For additional protection, set a third -party application and & nbsp; activate it in & nbsp; & laquo; lock and & nbsp; calls & raquo;.

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116