DoT directs telcos to complete inter-operator trials

New Delhi: In a bid to check cyber frauds in the country, the government will soon crack down on the fraud callers as the user will be able to see the name and number of the person calling in his/her mobile. The Department of Telecommunication or DoT under the Ministry of Telecommunication has asked telecom service providers to complete the inter-operator trials by Monday (ie, April 14), and they need to submit a report by April 18. After the trial's reports, the department, however, wants this step to be implemented in phases across the country, a DoT source privy to the development said on Sunday.

The move of the government comes after observing that several phone call frauds, often involving impersonating government officials or banks, are a growing problem in India, with scams using artificial intelligence-generated fake voices and sophisticated techniques to trick victims. As a result, innocent citizens face a significant financial loss following these scams, as seen in cases where individuals lost substantial amounts after falling for these fraudulent calls.

The government, the source said, has already started its first phase of inter-operator trials initially in the states of Maharashtra and Haryana, and later it will cover all other states of the country in a phased manner as well. "The users with 4G and 5G services in all telecom service providers, including major players like Jio, Airtel will be able to identify the callers with their names and numbers, while users with 2G like Vodafone-Idea and BSNL may not get this facility initially, but later they may be included in this programme," the source added.

Recently, the Indian government has taken several measures to combat fraud calls, including implementing systems to block international spoofed calls, urging citizens to report fraud attempts via the Chakshu portal, and launching awareness campaigns as well. The DoT, however, said in January 2025 that it had achieved remarkable milestones, disconnecting over 2.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections and securing over 25 lakh lost or stolen devices. “Additionally, 12.38 lakh WhatsApp accounts linked to cyber crimes have been disengaged, and 11.6 lakh mule bank accounts have been frozen to prevent financial frauds,” it said.