Protecting Irish Phones From Scams, and Irish Businesses From Fallout
When scams got smarter, regulations got tougher, and we got moving.
Our customers rely on messaging to stay connected, support their teams, and serve their communities.
They shouldn’t have to worry about scams or reputational risk.
We wanted to make sure they didn’t.
But that got harder in 2024.
SMS scams were getting smarter and more convincing.
We’ve all told our grannies never to tap a link.
But they’re still catching people every day.
“€300 million lost every year to scam calls and texts in Ireland. ”
With damage mounting fast, ComReg stepped in, introducing a sweeping new policy to clean up Ireland’s messaging ecosystem.
But it came with major consequences for businesses.
The New Rules
Phase 1: July 3, 2025
Unregistered sender IDs are automatically changed to: “Likely Scam”
Phase 2: October 2025
Messages from unregistered Sender IDs won’t get delivered at all.
It was the right move to protect citizens, but it created serious urgency for businesses.
Every business had to:
Apply for verification
Get approved
Update systems, all before July 3rd
Or risk being flagged, ignored, or blocked completely.
For our clients, that meant:
Broken customer relationships
Lost revenue
Reputational damage
And for us, as Ireland’s leading SMS provider, it meant:
Hundreds of thousands of messages at risk
Major support fallout
Watching customers pay the price for something they didn’t fully control
Our Call
We could’ve said,
“It’s your job to register”
But we’ve seen what those “Likely Scam” warnings can do
So we made a different call
Protect our customers, before they ever feel the impact
A Company Wide Effort
We set one goal, to build a safety net, and have it ready before July 3rd
That meant reworking how messages flow through our systems, in real time, at scale.
And it wasn’t easy
75% of the company shifted focus
Roadmaps paused
Priorities rerouted
Everyone pulled together
With over 10,000 hours of effort we:
🛠️ Re-architected infrastructure to validate sender ID pre-send
⚙️ Built safety nets that stop non-compliant messages before they send
🚀 Upgraded delivery systems to stay fast and frictionless
🧪 Created internal tools to track and support sender compliance
Real People, Not Just Platforms
This wasn’t just technical. It was human
We:
📞 Called every customer, real conversations, not bots
📬 Sent targeted email guides and reminders
🧾 Added alerts to invoices for hard-to-reach accounts
One team member made 300+ calls in a week
Every department pitched in, Support, Sales, Dev, Product, Finance
“It was great to see every part of the team come together on this and the result really shows why Phonovation continues to lead the way in SMS across Ireland.
From the support side, it’s great knowing our customers have that extra peace of mind now. Their messages are protected, and their brand reputation is safer because of it.””
What Changed
Thanks to months of behind-the-scenes work, and incredible collaboration from our customers:
✅ Message delivery stayed fast and compliant
✅ Campaigns stayed live and uninterrupted
✅ Trust and customer relationships stayed intact
✅ Irish messaging is now safer for everyone
What This Was Really About
This wasn’t just about compliance.
It was about keeping messaging trusted, without putting that burden on our customers.
Our clients had jobs to do. Communities to serve. Teams to support.
They didn’t need a new threat to manage.
And we weren’t going to let them face it alone.
To everyone who registered, picked up the phone, followed the steps, or helped someone else along the wa, thank you.
You helped make Irish messaging safer for everyone.
A Word From Our CEO
““This was one of those rare projects where the whole company came together around one goal: protecting our customers. Trust is earned, not assumed — and this was about earning it. I’m incredibly proud of the team, and grateful to every customer who partnered with us on this journey.” ”
Not sure if ComReg’s new rules affect your business?
Learn what’s changed, what to check with your provider, and how to stay compliant [read more here].