New rules have been proposed in a bid to protect people and businesses from mobile messaging scams, regulator Ofcom has announced.

The communications watchdog said it is seeking to introduce new rules after 100 million suspicious messages were reported to mobile providers last year.

Ofcom said numbers have soared despite steps taken by mobile firms to identify and block scam messages.

On Wednesday, the regulator launched a package of measures which could lead to new requirements for mobile providers.

It proposed that firms must set limits on the volume of messages sent from pay-as-you-go sim cards.

It said research found this will make it harder for scammers to message large numbers of potential victims at once.

Mobile operators will also have to block numbers used by scammers. Ofcom

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