In Short:
The Department of Telecommunications has partnered with the Ministry of Home Affairs to protect citizens from SMS fraud through the Sanchar Saathi initiative. They have identified eight SMS Headers being misused for cyber-crime, resulting in over 10,000 fraudulent messages in the past three months. These entities have been blacklisted, preventing them from sending SMS through any telecom operator. The use of mobile numbers for telemarketing is not allowed, and violators may face disconnection and blacklisting. Citizens can report suspected fraud at the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi to help prevent future cyber-crime and financial fraud.
Protecting Citizens from SMS Fraud
Let’s talk about an important development in the realm of telecommunications – The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), along with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has joined forces to combat SMS fraud through the Sanchar Saathi initiative.
Cracking Down on Misuse
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under MHA flagged the misuse of eight SMS Headers for fraudulent activities. Over 10,000 misleading messages were sent using these headers in the last three months. These headers were linked to eight Principal Entities (PEs).
Blacklisting and Prevention
As a strong measure, all eight PEs, along with 73 SMS headers and 1522 SMS content templates linked to them, have been blacklisted. This action ensures that none of these entities can use telecom operators to send SMS anymore.
Strict Regulations
DoT emphasizes that using mobile numbers for telemarketing is strictly prohibited. Any violations can lead to disconnection of the connection upon the first complaint, with the possibility of being blacklisted for two years.
Reporting and Prevention
To safeguard citizens from falling prey to such frauds, DoT encourages reporting of suspicious communications through the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi. This collaborative effort aims to prevent the misuse of telecom resources for cyber-crime and financial frauds.
