If you’ve ever received a suspicious text that claims to be from your bank, a delivery company, or even the government, you’re not alone. SMS scams have become a huge problem in Ireland. But now, big changes are coming to help protect you and your customers.
In 2025, ComReg (Ireland’s communications regulator) is launching a new system called the SMS Sender ID Registry. This is a major step in fighting SMS fraud and making sure text messages from businesses are genuine. Here’s what you need to know.
SMS scams are costing Ireland over €300 million per year.
In 2022, there were over 365,000 cases of fraud from scam calls and texts—almost 1,000 every day!
Fake texts often look like they come from real companies because scammers can “spoof” (fake) the sender name.
This makes it hard for people to know which texts are real and which are scams.
ComReg’s new rules are designed to stop this.
The SMS Sender ID Registry is a new, official list of all the names (like “AIB”, “AN POST”, “NUACOM”, etc.) that businesses use to send text messages to customers.
How it works:
Only registered businesses can use their chosen sender names.
If a scammer tries to use a registered name, their message won’t get through.
Unregistered sender names will either be blocked or marked as “Likely Scam”.
This means:
You’ll know that texts from registered names are genuine.
It will be much harder for scammers to trick people.
Here’s a simple timeline of how the new rules will roll out:
Mobile networks and SMS providers will register existing sender names for their business customers.
If you use a service like NUACOM for SMS, we’ll help make sure your sender name is registered.
New businesses or those who missed the bulk upload can register their sender names online.
If a text comes from an unregistered sender name, it will be labelled “Likely Scam”.
This gives everyone a heads-up while businesses finish registering.
Texts from unregistered sender names will be completely blocked.
Only registered, verified sender names will get through.
If your business sends SMS to customers, you must register your sender name (the name that appears as the sender on your texts).
Why this matters:
Protect your brand: No one else can pretend to be you.
Reach your customers: Unregistered sender names will be blocked after October 2025.
Build trust: Customers will know your texts are real.
What you need to do:
Work with your SMS provider (like NUACOM) to make sure your sender name is registered.
If you use multiple sender names (for different departments or services), register them all.
Keep your registration details up to date.
Good news: There’s no cost for registering your sender name.
More security: It’ll be much harder for scammers to fake texts from banks, delivery companies, or other trusted brands.
Clear warnings: You’ll see “Likely Scam” labels on texts from unregistered sender names (from July 2025).
Peace of mind: You can trust that texts from registered names are genuine.
Tip: If you get a text labelled “Likely Scam”, don’t click any links or reply. Contact the company directly using their official website or phone number.
At NUACOM, our priority is helping your business and your customers navigate these new regulations to ensure compliance and security. Here’s how we support you:
Seamless Sender Name Registration: From day one, we handle the process of registering the Sender Name for you, with only your final approval needed on the ComReg portal.
Continuous Compliance Updates: We keep you informed on new requirements and deadlines, ensuring your business stays compliant with evolving regulations.
Multi-Brand Management: For multi-brand businesses, we help with multiple registrations and managing sender names in our portal for an efficient SMS strategy.
For existing NUACOM clients, navigating this new regulation is simple. Your only required action is detailed in our Help Center article.
Supporting you with the Registry is just one part of how NUACOM helps. We also offer modern communication solutions tailored for Irish businesses:
Our platform enables you to send one-to-one personalized messages and manage one-to-many campaigns (Bulk SMS) with segmented lists to prospects and customers.
Our integrated calling solution allows you to leverage call activities and logs for messages, such as setting up automated SMS for follow-up on missed calls. This means you can really ramp up engagement, keep your customers updated, and generate sales.
We’re constantly enhancing our platform to connect Calls, Text, and WhatsApp messages (coming soon!) so you can engage with your customers in one single platform.
If you have any questions, just reach out to our team
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Ireland’s new SMS Sender ID Registry is great news for both businesses and consumers. It means safer, more trustworthy text messages and a big step forward in the fight against fraud.
If you’re a NUACOM customer, we’ve got your back. If you’re a consumer, you can look forward to safer SMS in 2025!
Stay safe, stay informed—and let’s make SMS scams a thing of the past.
An SMS Sender ID is the name or number that appears as the sender when you receive a text message from a business or organisation. In Ireland, businesses often use a custom name (like “NUACOM” or “AIB”) instead of a regular phone number, so you can easily recognise who the message is from.
The SMS Sender ID Registry is a new system set up by ComReg to protect people in Ireland from scam texts. It’s an official list of all the sender names that businesses use for SMS. Only registered sender names can be used, making it much harder for scammers to pretend to be real companies.
If you’re a business, you should contact your SMS provider (like NUACOM) or your SMS aggregator. They will pre-register your sender name with ComReg. To do it yourself, you’ll be able to register online from Spring 2025. You’ll need to confirm your registration by email when prompted.
Your SMS Sender ID is the name or number that appears as the sender when you send texts to your customers. Check your SMS platform or ask your SMS provider if you’re unsure. It’s usually set up when you first arrange SMS messaging for your business.
To change your SMS Sender ID, contact your SMS provider or platform. You may need to submit a new registration with ComReg for the new sender name. Make sure the new ID follows the rules (alphanumeric, 3–11 characters, no special symbols)
You can create a sender ID by choosing a unique name (between 3 and 11 letters/numbers, at least one letter, no special characters). Register this name through your SMS provider or directly via the ComReg portal when it opens. Your provider will guide you through the process
Ask your SMS provider or check with ComReg. If you registered during the bulk upload in February 2025, you should receive confirmation from your provider. From July 2025, unregistered sender IDs will be labelled “Likely Scam,” and from October 2025, they’ll be blocked—so check before these dates. You can also check sender-id-search
Be cautious with texts from unknown or unexpected sender names.
Look for spelling mistakes or odd grammar, which are common in scam texts.
If a message seems suspicious, check the sender ID against the official contact details on the company’s website.
From July 2025, texts from unregistered sender names will be labelled “Likely Scam” to help you spot fakes
Registering protects your business and your customers. It stops scammers from impersonating your brand, helps your messages reach customers, and builds trust. From October 2025, only registered sender IDs will work in Ireland—unregistered ones will be blocked
Yes. The SMS Sender ID Registry is mandatory for all businesses and organisations sending bulk SMS (A2P messaging) to Irish consumers. It’s part of a national effort to fight SMS fraud and keep everyone’s messages safe
Letters (A-Z, a-z), Numbers (0-9), and a limited set of special characters, specifically spaces, hyphens (-), and commas (,). SMS Sender IDs must be between 3 and 11 characters in length.
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