Govt Strengthens Measures to Combat Telecom Frauds

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has undertaken following measures to protect citizens and prevent misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime & financial frauds:

1. Developed a system to detect suspected mobile connections obtained on fake / forged documents and directed Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for reverification.

2. Launched a citizen centric initiative Sanchar Saathi to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security and increase awareness. It is available in the form of web portal (https://sancharsaathi.gov.in) and Mobile App. Sanchar Saathi, inter-alia, facilitates citizens to:

1. report suspected fraud and unsolicited commercial communications
2. know the mobile connections issued in their name and report the mobile connections which are either not required or not taken by them
3. report the stolen / lost mobile handset for blocking and tracing
4. know the genuineness of mobile handset

3. Launched Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for sharing of information related to misuse of telecom resources with stakeholders for prevention of cyber-crime and financial frauds. At present, 540 organization including banks and financial institutions, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), State/UT Police, Security agencies, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), TSPs etc. have on-boarded the platform.

4. DoT and TSPs have devised a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers that appear to be originating from within India. Such international spoofed calls have been made by cyber-criminals in recent cases of fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, drugs/narcotics in courier, impersonation as government and police officials, disconnections of mobile numbers by DoT/TRAI officials, etc.

Further, Ministry of Home Affairs has also launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) to enable the public to report all types of cyber crimes.

DoT has notified Telecom Cyber Security Rules and Critical Telecommunication Infrastructure Rules on 21.11.2024 and 22.11.2024 respectively under section 22 of the telecommunications Act, 2023 for security of the telecommunication infrastructure. DoT has set up a Telecom Security Operation Centre (TSOC), for detecting potential cyber- threats to Indian telecom network and providing alerts to stakeholders for necessary actions. DoT is engaging with citizens and making them aware of telecom related frauds & scams through social media and regular press releases.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.