TRAI Tightens Rules To Fight Spam Calls And Payment Frauds — Check Details
One of the significant moves being planned is faster blocking of fraud numbers.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has announced a series of coordinated measures involving India’s key regulators, major banks, and telecom service providers, with the aim to curb spam calls, pesky SMSes, and digital payment frauds.
In a meeting on Tuesday in New Delhi, stakeholders from the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR), officials from the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, NPCI, and key government departments came together to push for urgent action against the misuse of telecom resources for fraud and unwanted commercial calls.
One of the biggest changes for ordinary consumers is the planned shift to the dedicated 1600-number series for transactional and service-related calls from banks, insurance companies, and other financial services firms. Once rolled out, this will make it much easier for people to identify genuine calls, helping reduce the risk of falling for scamsters pretending to be from banks or loan companies.
TRAI is also piloting a new Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) system with seven major banks—SBI, PNB, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Canara Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank—and eight telecom service providers. This pilot aims to replace unverifiable paper or phone consents with a tamper-proof digital process. Consumers will be able to register, view, or withdraw their consent for receiving promotional calls and SMSes through a secure digital portal. This means more control over who can reach you, and fewer unwanted messages if you opt out.
Blocking Of Fraud Numbers
Another significant move is the push for faster blocking of fraud numbers. TRAI, the Department of Telecommunications, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre will now automate the sharing of spam and cyber fraud data. This will allow quick disconnection of numbers used by fraudsters, cutting off scams at the source.
To help people verify who are sending bulk SMSes, TRAI has revamped its SMS header portal (smsheader.trai.gov.in). Users can search any SMS header to check which company is using it and decide whether it’s safe.
NPCI’s inclusion in this regulatory group underlines how closely spam and fraud are linked with digital payments and UPI transactions.
TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said coordinated action is the only way to secure a safer digital experience without burdening genuine businesses. If implemented well, these measures promise cleaner calls, safer payments, and more peace of mind for every mobile user.
