Spams

90% of businesses accounting for the majority of commercial traffic have registered, telcos say

Trai's new message traceability norms go live from Dec 11 and aim to protect users by ensuring OTPs and essential messages are delivered seamlessly, while tackling spam and fraudulent communication

Up to 6 per cent of all calls, 2 per cent of SMS noted as spam on the Airtel network

Delhi has seen the highest number of spam calls, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Western Uttar Pradesh. Most spam calls originated in Delhi, with Mumbai and Karnataka next

Draft norms had called for tracing and taking action against spam sources

Telecom regulator TRAI on Thursday asserted that its mandate to telcos on message traceability as part of curbing spams would not lead to any delay in delivery of messages nor disrupt timely receipt of one-time passwords. Taking to X, TRAI dismissed as "factually incorrect" reports which suggested that OTP messages could get delayed from December 1. "This is factually incorrect. TRAI has mandated the Access Providers to ensure message traceability. It will not delay delivery of any message," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wrote on X. The clarification came after some media reports suggested that subscribers across telecom networks could face disruptions and delays in OTP-based transactions like banking services, and e-commerce, among others. TRAI has announced a number of initiatives to crackdown on spam calls and messages. To enhance message traceability, TRAI issued direction on August 20, 2024 mandating that the trail of all messages from senders/principal entities

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) expects to finalise by January, updated and tighter regulations on curbing spam calls and messages after holding extensive discussions on its recent consultation paper, Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti has said. Lahoti further said based on a recent reference from Telecom Department, TRAI will prepare and float a consultation paper on regulatory framework for telemarketers. The TRAI Chief said series of measures taken over the past months by the regulator to combat spam calls and malicious/fraudulent messages is leading to "significant and perceptible clean up of the system" but noted that "more needs to be done". "Our consultation paper was floated in August-end...we have already received comments and counter comments on it and now we will be analysing all the views and hold an open house discussions. It will take about three months for regulations to be finalised... so around January, we will come out with updated regulations on curbing .

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday claimed that its new AI-powered detection system successfully identified 154 million potential spam calls and 8 million spam SMS messages in Bengal since its launch nearly a month ago. The telecom major said it offers the solution in West Bengal for free and customers need not to request service or download an app. "As connectivity expands, customers are increasingly encountering scams, fraud, and damaging communications. To combat these digital risks, we introduced an AI-based solution designed to proactively spot suspected spam calls and messages." Bharti Airtel CEO (West Bengal & Orissa), Ayan Sarkar said. Developed in-house by Airtel's data scientists, the AI-powered solution uses a proprietary algorithm to identify and classify calls and SMSes as "suspected spam". There are apps offered by antivirus and digital security providers to identify and block potential spam and fraudulent calls and messages. Blocking spam at the network level is a new ...

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on Tuesday launched a slew of new offerings and initiatives, ranging from spam blockers to automated SIM kiosks and direct-to-device services, as the state-owned firm vowed to proactively woo subscribers and claw back market share. Sporting a brand new logo, BSNL also introduced low latency 5G connectivity for mining operations in partnership with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), leveraging Made-in-India equipment and its technological expertise. In all, 7 new services of the telco were launched by Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Meanwhile, sources said that the telecom corporation is shifting to a higher gear to grab market share, with a game plan that includes the commercial launch of 4G services in the coming months. The state-owned telco is also giving shape to asset monetisation plans, with an innovative multi-pronged approach that may include identifying land for 'data warehousing' and using the last leg as

Scammers are registering over 1,000 phishing domains every day and creating deepfake videos of prominent Indian personalities such as Mukesh Ambani, Virat Kohli, etc to promote dubious gamings apps, cyber security firm CloudSEK said on Friday. The deepfake videos use manipulated footage of famous news anchors to create fake news videos of prominent personalities to endorse dubious apps, the CloudSEK report said. "Scammers are not only using deepfake videos to lure people to download the dubious app but have also created a fake Play Store to appear genuine. Research shows over 1000 phishing domains are being created every day to cheat netizens of over seven countries," the report said. The cyber security firm said that by leveraging its deepfake detection technology research team has identified a series of deceptive campaigns targeting users in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and beyond for promoting a fake gaming app. "Prominent figures such as Mukesh Ambani, Virat Kohli, .

4.5 million or one-third of such calls being stopped

Certain issues have arisen during the implementation of regulatory framework to protect consumers from unwanted promotional calls, said Ministry of Telecommunications

Telecom firms are only allowed to use the 140 series to make calls to consumers, however, unregistered telemarketers continue to use 10-digit phone numbers, making identification a challenge

The Consumer Affairs Ministry on Thursday sought public comments until July 21 on draft guidelines to curb unsolicited and unwanted business communications like promotional calls and text messages. The guidelines -- prepared after consultations with stakeholders, including telecom firms and regulators -- define "business communication" as any communication related to goods or services like promotional and service messages but excludes personal communication. They will apply to all individuals and entities that make or engage others for such communications or benefit from them, the ministry said in a statement. The draft guidelines classify any business communication as unsolicited and unwanted if it does not comply with the recipient's consent or registered preferences. Other conditions that would make a communication unauthorised include using unregistered numbers or SMS headers, calling despite recipients opting out, failing to obtain digital consent, not identifying the caller a

The government has directed telecom operators to block all incoming international spoofed calls that display Indian mobile numbers, an official statement said on Sunday. The Department of Telecom (DoT) said that it has been reported that fraudsters are making international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers to Indian citizens and committing cyber-crime and financial frauds. Such calls appear to be originating within India but are being made by cyber-criminals from abroad by manipulating the calling line identity (CLI) and have been misused in recent cases of fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, drugs or narcotics in courier, impersonation as government and police officials, disconnections of mobile numbers by DoT or TRAI officials, etc. "DoT and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block such international spoofed calls from reaching any Indian telecom subscriber. Now directions have been issued to the TSPs for blocking such incoming ...

Spam calls must be stopped

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX stated that the move was aimed at curbing spam accounts on the social media platform

Government on Monday unveiled the Chakshu portal under the umbrella of Sanchar Sathi to enable subscribers to report suspected fraud calls, messages like lottery offer, job offers and even suspected leak of phone numbers by businesses. Union IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that through digital measures to check fraud and crime, the Department of Telecom Services has been able to help citizens save around Rs 1000 crore in the last nine months and Rs 1008 crore has been frozen in various bank accounts that were linked to fraudulent transactions. "Chakshu is about reporting something which people suspect is fraud," Vaishnaw said. When asked about the process put in place on mobile numbers that are leaked by businesses, the minister said that subscribers can report about the number of leaks on the Chakshu portal and action will be taken against the culprit. The minister said that 1 crore mobile numbers have been disconnected in the last nine months that were linked

Moreover, 90% of respondents admitted that they get spam calls despite being registered on DND list. This clearly indicates that the DND list is still not working for the consumers.

Dark patterns are practices or patterns on UI/UX interactions on any platform designed to mislead or trick users