Telecom service providers told to alert subscribers about 'international calls'

New Delhi:The department of telecommunication (DoT) has formed a dedicated task force comprising various stakeholders that is actively working to address such spoofed calls. Now, the telecom service providers or TSPs should display “International Call” to the subscribers whenever any call from outside the country is received. This move of the government comes amid increasing international calls as fraudsters use various ways to make the mobile users fall into their trap.

The government, however, aims at addressing the growing menace of cyber-crimes involving spoofed calls. "This system identifies and blocks calls that appear to originate from Indian numbers but are manipulated by cybercriminals abroad using tampered calling line identities (CLI). Spoofed calls have been linked to various cyber-crimes, including impersonation as officials from DoT, TRAI, or law enforcement agencies, and fraudulent activities such as fake arrests, threats of disconnection, and other scams," the DoT said.

"Within 24 hours of the system’s launch, approximately 1.35 crore spoofed calls, constituting 90 per cent of all incoming international calls with tampered Indian numbers, were identified and blocked by telecom service providers. As of December 2024, the number of blocked spoofed calls has significantly reduced to around six lakh, indicating the system’s success in curbing such cyber-crimes," it said.

However, fraudsters have adapted by using international numbers that do not start with the Indian country code (+91). These calls, originating from numbers such as +8, +85, and +65, are increasingly being used to impersonate government authorities. The DoT has taken several steps to check this menace. Telecom service provider Airtel has already implemented this solution, with other TSPs exploring its feasibility.

The DoT has also urged citizens to exercise caution when receiving calls from unfamiliar international numbers, especially those not beginning with +91. "Suspicious calls claiming to be from Indian authorities should be reported to the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi. Besides, victims of cybercrime are advised to report incidents immediately through the cybercrime helpline (1930) or the official website (https://www.cybercrime.gov.in)," it said.