India’s Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, unveiled ‘International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System’ to protect citizens from international spoofed calls.
This system, developed by the Department of Communications (DoT) in collaboration with Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), can identify and block calls appearing to come from Indian numbers (+91-xxxxxxxxx) but actually originating overseas. Scammers often use spoofing to impersonate government officials, threaten service disconnection, or create panic.
The new system aims to significantly reduce these scams, with initial results showing about 1.35 crore or 90% block rate on such calls within the first 24 hours of operation from all the incoming international calls with Indian phone numbers were identified as spoofed calls and blocked by TSPs from reaching Indian telecom subscribers.
However, the DoT acknowledges that fraudsters may still find other methods. If you receive a suspicious call, even with an Indian number, you can report it to the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi. The DoT said that it remains committed to fighting cybercrime and protecting citizens.