Regulations Regarding the Elimination of Fraud Using Numbering

Issued pursuant to
Section 9, Paragraph one, Clause 15 of the Electronic Communications Law and
Section 25, Paragraph one of the law On Regulators of Public Utilities

1. These Regulations for the elimination of fraud using numbering (hereinafter - the Regulation) prescribe the features of fraud performed using numbering (hereinafter - fraud), as well as the time periods and the procedures by which exchange of information between the electronic communications merchant (hereinafter - the Merchant) and the Public Utilities Commission (hereinafter - the Regulator) shall take place, and how the Regulator shall detect and the Merchant shall eliminate fraud.

2. Fraud shall be considered to be an activity which conforms to at least one of the following features:

2.1. complete or partial modification of the calling number, except where the national code allocated in accordance with international legal acts is added to the number received in the basic form;

2.2. the Merchant transfers a number to an end-user for use to which it has not been granted the right of use for the numbering or its right of use for the numbering has been revoked;

2.3. the Merchant provides a number portability service for a number to which the Regulator has not granted or has revoked the right of use for the numbering;

2.4. as a result of activity, useless or artificial traffic arises and this conforms to at least one of the following features:

2.4.1. the creation of a missed call from a foreign number upon making a call to which an increased tariff is applied;

2.4.2. the right of use for the numbering is used by a third party without the consent of the Merchant to whom the particular right of use for the numbering is allocated;

2.4.3. making of a call from a number, or routing or receipt of a call to a number to which the right of use for the numbering has not been granted to any Merchant;

2.4.4. routing of a text messages or multimedia messages (hereinafter - text message) from a number, or routing or receipt of a text message to a number to which the right of use for the numbering has not been granted to any Merchant;

2.4.5. a call has been made or a text message has been sent, allowing incorrect use of the numbering;

2.4.6. in the routing of a call or text message, the affiliation of the national code does not correspond to the affiliation of the national code of the public mobile telephone network;

2.4.7. the number of calls made or text messages sent from the number repeatedly exceeds the number of calls or text messages received to the number;

2.4.8. the number of calls or text messages received to the number repeatedly exceeds the number of calls made or text messages sent from the number;

2.4.9. a call has been made or received to a number for which a restriction of use has been specified - the possibility of only making a call or the possibility of only receiving a call;

2.4.10. a text message has been sent or received to a number for which a restriction of use has been specified - the possibility of only sending a text message or the possibility of only receiving a text message;

2.4.11. the end-user, when making a call, receives an answer of the answering machine and, after initiation of the call, the call ceases independently of the end-user;

2.4.12. the creation of a missed call from a number of the Republic of Latvia upon making a call to which such tariff is applied which exceeds the upper limit of the tariff of an equivalent electronic communications services of another Merchant of the Republic of Latvia by several times;

2.4.13. uniform calls are made or text messages sent according to the national time of the place of initiation of the call or sending of the text message, from Monday to Friday, from 22.00 until 08.00 hours, on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, or at another uncharacteristic time of the end-user;

2.4.13.¹ uniform calls or text messages are received according to the national time of the place of receipt of the call or the text message, from Monday to Friday, from 22.00 until 08.00 hours, on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, or at another uncharacteristic time of the end-user;

2.4.14. the traffic is caused by the terminal equipment attached to the termination point;

2.4.15. during the call, without the interruption thereof, a new call is made from the calling number to the same or other number being called.

[17 November 2016; 7 February 2019]

3. Useless or artificial traffic are calls made, routed, or received during a period of at least one hour, as well as text messages sent, routed, or received which conform to at least one of the following features:

3.1. the calls or text messages are uniform, characterised by the following parameters:

3.1.1. the length of the call;

3.1.2. the regularity of making of a call or sending of text messages to a number;

3.2. a call has been made in an amount uncharacteristic to an end-user which is not specified in the contract for the electronic communications service, or by using an additional service (call forwarding; the possibility of answering another call without interrupting it; the connection concurrently with several end-users) which increases the total amount of traffic of the Merchant;

3.3. text messages have been sent in an amount uncharacteristic to an end-user which is not specified in the contract for the electronic communications service, or by using automatic transmission of text messages concurrently to several end-users which increases the total amount of traffic of the Merchant.

4. The Merchant shall, within 10 working days from the time of detecting a possible fraud, submit a submission to the Regulator regarding the possible fraud (hereinafter - the submission) for which an evaluation is necessary, together with information regarding termination of the routing, sending it in writing or to the electronic mail address sprk@sprk.gov.lv.

5. The Merchant shall, within 10 working days from the time of detecting a possible fraud, send the information to the Regulator regarding the possible fraud for which an evaluation is not necessary to the electronic mail address fraud@sprk.gov.lv.

6. Upon receipt of the submission the Regulator shall within 10 working days:

6.1. ascertain which Merchant has been granted the right of use for the numbering to a number that is involved in the possible fraud;

6.2. forward the submission to and request traffic data from the Merchant the rights of use of which have been exercised in the possible fraud, by sending the request electronically to the contact person of the Merchant in respect of the issues of fraud, also sending concurrently the request in writing to the legal address of the Merchant;

6.3. inform the submitter regarding the further action of the Regulator.

[7 February 2019]

7. The Merchant shall provide a reply to the Regulator regarding issues of fraud within the time period stipulated by the Regulator after forwarding of the submission specified in Sub-paragraph 6.2 of this Regulation, sending it in writing and electronically to the e-mail address sprk@sprk.gov.lv.

8. The Regulator shall evaluate and provide the Merchant with an assessment regarding the conformity of the possible fraud with the characteristics of fraud by analysing the information at the disposal of the Regulator, including the traffic data of the Merchant.

[7 February 2019]

9. The Merchant shall, without delay, stop routing of calls from an electronic communications network or terminal equipment and access to the relevant number or range of numbers, if the Merchant has detected fraud.

[7 February 2019]

9.¹ The Regulator shall cooperate with other State authorities, regulators of other European Union Member States, and institutions of the European Union in issues of fraud.

[7 February 2019]

10. If the Merchant changes the contact person of the Merchant in respect of issues of fraud, the Merchant shall, within 10 working days after making of these amendments, submit the updated information to the Regulator, indicating the given name and surname, telephone number, as well as electronic mail address of the contact person.

11. Decision No. 1/13 of the Public Utilities Commission of 1 October 2014, Regulations Regarding the Elimination of Fraud Using Numbering (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2014, No. 197), is repealed.

12. This Regulation shall come into force on 1 January 2016.

Informative Reference to the European Union Directives

This Regulation contains legal norms arising from the following European Union Directives:

1) Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive);

2) Directive 2009/136/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws.

Acting Chair, Board Member
of the Public Utilities Commission G. Zeltiņš

Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)