Govt Mulls New Panel to Combat Surge in Spam Calls and Phishing

The Indian government is considering the establishment of a new panel to address the issue of spam calls, particularly focusing on calls made over the internet and messaging platforms like WhatsApp. The proposal to form this panel was discussed during an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Thursday, as stated by the Consumers Affairs Department.

Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) chaired a meeting today to discuss the solution for the issue of pesky/ promotional/unsolicited commercial calls. The meeting was attended by representatives from Dept. of Telecom, TRAI, COAΙ, and telecom.. pic.twitter.com/znWkNyymJ6

— Consumer Affairs (@jagograhakjago) February 14, 2024

Representatives from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), and major private sector telecom companies including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea were present at the meeting.

The Consumer Affairs Department expressed concerns about the increasing number of complaints regarding spam calls received from consumers.

Spam calls are categorized as "unsolicited commercial communication" (UCCS) and are often sent by unregistered telemarketers (UTMs). To combat this issue, Trai introduced the Digital Content Authorization (DCA) platform last year, aiming to establish a unified system for managing customer consent for commercial communication.

Telecom companies have been urged by Trai to quickly integrate Principal Entities (PEs), such as banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies, into the DCA system. However, telecom operators have cited a slow response from businesses and operational challenges as hindrances to the process.

In the prevalent system, customer consent is obtained and maintained by the PEs. Telecom officials said PEs need to agree to the new norms. "The government guidelines have come months back, and we have also intimated the PEs. Most are now completing the onboard process," a telco official said.

Additionally, phishing attacks through internet-based platforms like WhatsApp have become a growing concern for the government. Telecom companies have highlighted the need for effective anti-phishing solutions, particularly for over-the-top (OTT) services such as WhatsApp, as traditional commercial SMS traffic transitions to internet-based messaging.  The shift towards platforms like WhatsApp's enterprise solution is driven by cost-saving measures adopted by businesses.