Many organisations, including banks, medical facilities (e.g. hospitals, pharmacies, GP practices), delivery companies, schools and clubs, use SMS text messages to communicate with customers, clients and members. These texts may be appointment reminders, financial transactions or delivery updates.
These business-to-person SMS messages often include an identifier (e.g., the sender’s name, not a phone number) to indicate who the text is from – this is called the SMS Sender ID (e.g., 234BANK). But scam texts have undermined SMS, causing significant harm to organisations and consumers. To help prevent text scams and help restore SMS as a reliable and trustworthy communications channel, ComReg recently launched an SMS Sender ID Registry in Ireland.
From 3 July 2025, unregistered SMS Sender IDs will be modified to ‘Likely Scam’. These texts could be scams or may be from legitimate businesses or organisations that have yet to register their Sender ID with ComReg which they should do now without delay at comreg.ie/senderid. Consumers are advised to be vigilant.
Do not click on links or call numbers contained in the content of these texts. Check the organisation’s contact details separately.
From 3 October 2025, text messages from all unregistered SMS Sender IDs will be blocked.
Stay Scam Safe
This initiative is one of several anti-scam interventions being implemented by ComReg and the telecommunications industry, to help protect consumers and businesses in Ireland.
The total net financial benefit of ComReg’s interventions is projected at around €1.2 Billion by 2030, alongside the vast societal benefits to be gained from reducing scam calls and texts.
