A number that appears with the prefix +39 on your screen indicates a call associated with Italy. This country code, assigned by the International Telecommunication Union, is the only code linked to Italian territory. However, with the rise of CLI spoofing (caller ID spoofing), the prefix +39 is no longer sufficient to confirm that your caller is actually in Italy. What elements can then help distinguish a legitimate call from a diverted one?
AGCOM Filtering: What Changed for +39 Calls in 2025
The Italian regulator AGCOM adopted resolution 106/25/CONS to combat telephone identity theft. This regulation imposes on operators an automatic filtering of calls presenting an Italian number when they originate from abroad without technical justification.
The implementation schedule distinguishes two phases. Italian landline numbers have been filtered since August 19, 2025. Mobile numbers will be filtered starting from November 19, 2025, except in cases of verified roaming by the operator.
In practice, an incoming call in +39 routed from a foreign network can now be blocked before it even reaches your phone, without you having activated any option. This filtering is carried out by operators and international carriers, who check the consistency between the displayed number and the actual routing path.
You can identify a number starting with +39 with Voyagoo to verify the category of the calling number and cross-reference this information with reports from other users.
Decoding the Number After +39: Landline, Mobile, or Service
The prefix +39 alone does not indicate the nature of the call. It is the first digit that follows which allows categorization of the line.
| First Digit After +39 | Type of Number | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Geographic Landline | +39 06 for Rome, +39 02 for Milan |
| 3 | Mobile | +39 3XX XXX XXXX |
| 1 | Short Services or Kiosk | National short numbers |
| 4 | SMS/MMS and Data Services | Internal services |
| 5 | Nomadic Communications (VoIP) | IP telephony lines |
| 8 | Toll-free or Shared-cost Numbers | +39 800 for green numbers |
The total length of the number (excluding the country code) varies between 3 and 12 digits according to the numbering plan supervised by AGCOM. An Italian landline number always retains its initial zero, even when making an international call. This is a unique feature: most countries drop the zero when dialing from abroad.
A call in +39 3XX typically comes from an Italian mobile. In contrast, a call in +39 0XX comes from a landline associated with a city identifiable by its area code. If the number starts with +39 5, it is a nomadic VoIP line, often used by businesses or call centers.
Suspicious +39 Call: Concrete Signs of a Scam
AGCOM filtering has reduced the volume of spoofed calls appearing to come from Italy. However, fraudulent campaigns are shifting to other identifiers not covered by these filters, according to observations published in September 2026.
A call in +39 can still be suspicious despite filtering. Several elements can help assess its legitimacy before or after answering:
- The displayed number starts with +39 5 (nomadic VoIP line) and you are not expecting any calls from an Italian company: VoIP lines are the most frequently hijacked by international scam networks.
- The call rings once and then hangs up (the “wangiri” technique), prompting you to call back a premium-rate or shared-cost number starting with +39 8 or +39 4.
- Your interlocutor asks for bank details, a code received via SMS, or claims to represent an energy operator: these scenarios correspond to documented banking identity theft campaigns reported by several reporting platforms.
- The number does not appear in any Italian reverse directory and has accumulated negative reports on platforms like tellows.fr or chi-mi-ha-chiamato.it.
The context of the call remains more reliable than the displayed number. A legitimate +39 number can be verified via a reverse directory, while a spoofed number will have no coherent trace.
Italian Peculiarity: Why the Zero Remains in the Number
When you receive a call in +39 06 XXXX XXXX, the presence of the zero after the country code may seem unusual. In almost all countries, the zero of the area code disappears when making an international call. Italy has been an exception to this global convention since 1998.
This rule applies only to landlines. Italian mobile numbers start with 3 and have never included an initial zero. If you see a call +39 06, the zero is an integral part of the number: do not remove it if you wish to call back.
This peculiarity has a direct consequence on call recognition: an Italian landline number displayed without its initial zero (for example +39 6 instead of +39 06) indicates a formatting anomaly, potentially related to a misconfigured VoIP system or an attempted spoofing.
The prefix +39 remains a useful first filter for identifying the declared origin of a call. The digit that follows indicates the type of line. But only the combination of the complete number, context, and verification via a directory or reporting platform allows for a reliable assessment of the call. The filtering imposed by AGCOM on operators reduces the risk upstream, without completely eliminating it.
