The Indian telecom sector is now very upbeat about bringing in anti-spam features to curb spam/fraudulent calls in the country. Efforts have been made to reduce fraudulent calls, however, it hasn't been too effective. But the new measures and steps look very promising. Both the telcos and the government/regulator are taking steps individually and collectively to make cyberspace safer for the citizens.
TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recently said that more than 680 entities have been blacklisted and 18 lakh numbers have been disconnected in the last one and half months to reduce spam. The Ministry of Communications (MoC) said in a release that DoT (Department of Telecommunications) along with telcos are working to prevent international spoof calls from reaching customers.
Read More - Airtel Detects 70 Million Potential Spam Calls in Maharashtra in 7 Days
"This system is being deployed in two phases: first, at the TSP level, to prevent calls spoofed with phone numbers of their own subscribers; and second, at a central level, to stop calls spoofed with the numbers of subscribers from other TSPs," said MoC. In the same release, the ministry mentioned that 4.5 million calls are being blocked every day.
If you have been following the news, then you know that Airtel also recently introduced its own AI (artificial intelligence) tool for anti-spam in the network. Airtel said that in Maharashtra alone, the telco blocked over 70 million potential spam calls and 1.2 million spam SMS in seven days. BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) is also working on a similar working solution.
TRAI has also asked the telcos to whitelist URLs, APKs, and OTT Links before the companies can send it to the customers.
Read More - TRAI Enforces New Anti-Spam Regulations: Telecom Firms to Disconnect Offenders
So Why is the Sector Ramping Up Efforts Against Cyber Crime?
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a body established by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), reported that around 26,049 cyber crime cases were registered in 2019. However, in the first four months of 2024 alone, over 7,40,957 cases were registered. The rise in number of cases is alarming.
As more people shift to digital mediums for banking, shopping, work, and entertainment, they are prone to being a victim of cyber crime. The cyber criminals have also become very smart and are using advanced technologies to get access to people's banks and steal their money.
Read More - Airtel CEO Writes to Jio, BSNL, and Vi for Tackling Spam Communication: Report
What are Things/Platforms Citizens Should Know About to Fight Cyber Crime?
Firstly, it is advised that one should never share OTP (one time passwords) online or on phone calls. Second, if the user receives a fraud/spam call, then he/she is advised to report it on the Chakshu facility.
Further, you can leverage the sanchar saathi portal launched by the Department of Telecommunications for getting help with cyber crime or reporting fraud calls/messages.
