TRAI Cracks Down On Spam Calls, Over 2.75 Lakh Mobile Numbers Banned, 50 Entities Barred

Telecom service providers have removed over 2.75 lakh mobile numbers and telecom resources and barred over 50 entities in an attempt to reduce spam calls and messages, the government announced on Tuesday. This comes after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sent strict instructions to all access providers last month directing them to discontinue receiving promotional voice calls from telemarketers or unregistered senders.

In response to the exploitation of telecom resources for spamming, "Access Providers have taken stern measures against it," according to the TRAI. "They have blacklisted over 50 entities and disconnected over 2.75 lakh SIP DID/mobile numbers/Telecom resources," it added.

India Cracks Down On Spam Calls: Telecom Authority Orders Ban On Unregistered Promotional Callers

The telecom regulator stated that these actions should significantly lessen spam calls and give consumers relief. In order to contribute to a cleaner and more effective telecom environment, TRAI asked all stakeholders to abide by the directives.

The statement stated that "any unregistered telemarketer found to be abusing these resources will face severe consequences, including blacklisting and the disconnection of all telecom resources for up to two years."

Spam calls increased significantly between January and June, according to TRAI data, with over 7.9 lakh complaints made against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs).

In the meantime, access service providers have been given a one-month grace period by the regulator to adhere to its directives about the whitelisting of URLs, APKs, and OTT links. Major telecom providers in the nation were already requested by TRAI to control these types of messages by September 1.

Tired Of Rising Scam Calls? Google Is Working On New Spam Detection Feature To Tackle It

Reducing the number of spam and phishing attempts by scam artists to fool people into using SMS services is the aim of the initiative. The telecom regulator has mandated that after 15 days of the directive being issued, all access providers provide an updated status report to the authority detailing the activities taken, and within 30 days, a compliance report.

Additionally, the TRAI has implemented measures for noncompliance. Improperly registered content templates will go on a blacklist, and sending parties will have their services suspended for a month if they commit repeated infractions.