To combat cybercrime, the government has instructed telecom operators to block all incoming international spoofed calls that appear to display Indian mobile numbers.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) highlighted that fraudsters are making international spoofed calls showing Indian mobile numbers, thereby committing cybercrimes and financial frauds.
These calls, which seem to originate within India, are actually made by cybercriminals abroad by manipulating the Calling Line Identity (CLI). Recent incidents involving such spoofed calls include fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, narcotics in couriers, impersonation of government and police officials, and threats of mobile disconnection by DoT or TRAI officials.
“DoT and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have developed a system to identify and block these international spoofed calls from reaching any Indian telecom subscriber. Directions have now been issued to TSPs to block such incoming international spoofed calls,” an official statement said.
Currently, TSPs are already blocking incoming international spoofed calls with Indian landline numbers as per DoT’s directives.
“Despite our best efforts, some fraudsters might still succeed through other means. For such calls, the public can assist by reporting suspected fraud communications via the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi,” the statement added.
Last week, DoT issued directives to telecom operators to immediately re-verify 6.8 lakh mobile numbers within 60 days, which are suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake documents. The department identified these potentially fraudulent connections through advanced AI-driven analysis.
