TRAI New Rule: Fake SMS and calls will have to be stopped at all costs from December 11, Know details

TRAI New Rule: In the last few years, there have been cases of online fraud through fake SMS and calls. In most cases, cyber thugs were sending fake links, links to APK files, etc. through SMS.

TRAI New Rule: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has once again extended the deadline to implement OTP based SMS verification. TRAI has again given the last chance to telecom companies and other parties to implement the new rules till December 10. The authority has made it clear that fake SMS and calls will have to be stopped at all costs from December 11.

In fact, TRAI had announced to bring the ‘Message Traceability’ rule in August this year, which was to come into force from December 1. This rule has been specially made to stop fake and unregistered SMS, but it has been postponed several times due to lack of preparation of telecom companies and other institutions. Now the deadline to implement it has been made December 11. TRAI has instructed telemarketers and other related institutions to update their systems as soon as possible.

Communication with all parties

TRAI has communicated with various sectoral regulators including RBI, SEBI, pension fund regulator PFRDA and insurance regulator IRDA as well as central and state government departments and other organizations to implement this rule as soon as possible. Apart from this, webinars were also organized, in which all service provider companies, major regulatory bodies (PE) and telemarketing companies (TMS) participated. Through this, more than 27 thousand institutions and telemarketers have been registered with the service provider companies.

Warning issued to telemarketing companies

Telecom service provider companies have issued warning notices to those regulatory bodies and telemarketing companies which have not yet implemented the necessary changes. TRAI has clearly stated that from December 11, 2024, no such message will be accepted in which telemarketing companies have not used the prescribed number series. It is necessary to register with telecom service provider companies to obtain the prescribed series.

Fake messages can be easily identified

TRAI has directed telecom service provider companies to register all those institutions and companies which provide OTP and other important information to customers through SMS. Also, they should identify and block all such SMS, URL links and OTT links coming from banks, e-commerce companies and financial institutions which are not included in the white list.

With the new rule, it will be easy to identify fake calls and messages. If the company is not registered, then SMS with illegal series will be automatically blocked. At the same time, if the customer does not want to receive any such messages or calls, then he will be given the option to block them. This will help in preventing fraud through spam calls and fraudulent messages.

Large scale fraud

It is worth noting that in the last few years, there have been cases of online fraud through fake SMS and calls. In most of the cases, cyber thugs were sending fake links, links of APK files etc. through SMS. By clicking on these links, hackers easily get access to the customer’s personal information and mobile device, which leads to large scale fraud. Experts say that TRAI’s new rules will help in curbing this.

No delay in OTP

At the same time, TRAI has also issued a clarification on the delay in OTP after the new rule comes into force. The authority said that with the new change there will not be much delay in sending OTP.

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