The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced important steps to stop spam calls and prevent the misuse of SMS headers and message templates by fraudsters. These actions are aimed at protecting consumers and ensuring a safe messaging system in India.
Key Measures Introduced:
Strict Action Against Spam Calls: From August 13, 2024, TRAI has started imposing heavy fines on companies making unauthorized promotional calls. Offenders could face telecom disconnection, a two-year ban, and be prevented from acquiring new telecom services. As of now, over 800 companies have been blacklisted, and 1.8 million telecom resources (like mobile numbers) have been disconnected.
Mandatory Link Whitelisting: Starting October 1, 2024, all links (URLs, APKs, and OTT links) in SMS messages must be approved by Access Providers. This ensures that only trusted and safe links reach consumers, reducing the risk of harmful or fraudulent websites and apps.
“This will ensure that only safe, verified links can be sent through SMS, protecting users from dangerous or fake sites and apps,” said the Ministry of Communications.
Blockchain for Telemarketing Calls: From October 1, 2024, telemarketing calls that start with the 140xx series will be monitored using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), also known as Blockchain. This will help control and track these calls more effectively.
Better Message Tracking: TRAI has introduced a new system to track all entities (senders and telemarketers) involved in sending messages. This system will ensure that every step of the message delivery is monitored. It will require a clear link between the Principal Entity (PE) and Telemarketer (TM) when messages are sent.
TRAI says that if PEs and TMs don’t follow the correct message flow, they will be warned daily by their Access Providers until November 30, 2024. Starting December 1, 2024, any messages that don’t follow the correct path will be rejected.