As cases of phone call scams rises, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has introduced a new tool to identify genuine calls from those made by fraudsters. The department has allocated a dedicated 10-digit numbering series starting with 160 for service and transactional calls made by government, regulators and financial entities, reported ToI.
According to an office memorandum, the 10-digit number series has been designed by the DoT in a manner that citizens will get an idea about calling entities as well as the telecom operator and the place from where it has originated.
How to identify if a call is genuine by financial institutions?
A separate 10-digit number for service and transaction-related calls made by financial institutions and telecom operators will be rolled out by the Telecom department.
The 10-digit number will have a 160 prefix and will be issued in 1600ABCXXX format for government, financial institutions and telecom regulators.
The AB will show the code of the telecom circle like 11 for Delhi, 22 for Mumbai. While the digit at C place will show the code of the telecom operator. The XXX will be digits between 000-999.
Similarly, for financial entities regulated by RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the 10-digit number will be issued in 1601ABCXXX format.
“The TSP (telecom service provider) shall ensure adequate verification of each and every entity before assigning a number from 160 series, The TSP shall obtain an undertaking from the seeking entity that it will use the number assigned from 160 series exclusively for service and transactional voice calls as per TCCCPR 2018,” the note said.
“Vigilant and alert citizens are playing an indispensable role in preventing cybercrimes. Through their proactive reporting of suspected fraud communications via the Chakshu-Report Suspected Fraud Communications facility on the Sanchar Saathi portal, these alert citizens are contributing significantly to a safer digital environment,” the DoT note read.
What is govt doing to stop the menace of spam calls
Telecom operators are working with technology partners to implement solutions in the coming months to curb pesky calls and text messages, having already deployed a blockchain-based solution — or distributed ledger technology (DLT) — to rein in the menace.
“The industry has developed various modules over the DLT framework, which have been reasonably successful, considering the noticeable decline in the volume of unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) originating from SMS over the last couple of years. But UCC from voice calls is still an issue that the regulator and operators are working together to address,” S P Kochhar, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said Tuesday.
The COAI counts Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) as its key members, and is working closely with the government and the regulator to tackle the UCC menace.
(with ToI and agency inputs)
