The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has successfully implemented measures to block international spoofed calls that have been duping Indian citizens.
Fraudsters have been exploiting international numbers masked as Indian mobile numbers to perpetrate financial fraud and cybercrime. Using Calling Line Identity (CLI) spoofing, these calls appeared to originate domestically, allowing them to evade detection.
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Core Measures
To tackle this, India’s DoT, in partnership with telecom service providers (TSPs), developed and deployed an indigenous International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System.
The system has delivered remarkable results, blocking nearly 90% of spoofed calls—equivalent to 1.35 crore calls in a single day. The daily volume of such calls using Indian numbers has now plummeted to approximately 4 lakh, highlighting the system’s effectiveness in curbing fraudulent activities.
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Additional Measures
In response to scammers increasingly using international numbers, the DoT has rolled out additional measures to safeguard Indian citizens. It has directed TSPs to label all calls originating from outside India as an “International Call.”
This notification enables citizens to easily identify calls that don’t originate from official organizations like the DoT, TRAI, police, or RBI.
Additionally, the DoT has instructed Indian TSPs, including Airtel, BSNL, and Reliance Jio, to block traffic from international carriers frequently linked to spoofed CLI calls.
Over 20 such carriers and aggregators have been blacklisted so far, significantly reducing the likelihood of fraudulent calls reaching Indian users. These actions reflect the DoT’s continued efforts to strengthen defenses against cybercrime and protect citizens from scams.
The DoT has bolstered its fight against cybercrime through the Sanchar Saathi mobile app and portal, enabling citizens to report fraudulent calls directly from their call logs. This streamlined reporting process has enhanced public participation in combating telecom-related scams.
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