Sanchar Saathi initiative: DoT and MHA strike down on SMS scammers

New Delhi [India] May 27, : To control digital frauds, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has taken decisive action to protect citizens from potential SMS fraud through the Sanchar Saathi initiative, according to the Ministry of Communications press release.
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), MHA, provided information about the misuse of eight SMS Headers for sending fraudulent communications for committing cybercrime.
The move comes amidst a continuing government crackdown on those indulging in fraud through mobile calls and SMSes.
The DoT noted that more than 10,000 fraudulent messages were sent using these eight headers in the past three months.
"The principal entities which were owners of these eight SMS headers were blacklisted. All the 73 SMS headers and 1,522 SMS content templates owned by these principal entities were blacklisted," the release added.
The DoT has prevented further potential victimization of citizens by blacklisting these entities. DoT reiterates its commitment to safeguarding citizens against cybercrime.
Citizens can report suspected fraud communications at the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi to help DoT in the prevention of misuse of telecom resources for cyber-crime and financial frauds.
The Ministry of Communications also issued guidelines for the prohibition of mobile numbers for telemarketing, identifying telemarketing calls and reporting spam.
It is not permitted to use mobile numbers for telemarketing activities. If a consumer uses their telephone connection to send promotional messages, their connection will be liable for disconnection on the first complaint, and their name and address may be blacklisted for a period of two years.
Telemarketing calls can be identified by their prefixes: 180, 140, and 10-digit numbers are not permitted for telemarketing and to report spam, dial 1909 or use the DND (Do Not Disturb) service.