The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India expected to update update regulations controlling spam calls within the next few weeks amid an increasing barrage of scams and misleading interactions. Recent estimates suggest that Indian SIM card holders receive several billion spam calls every months — spread across hundreds of locations.
“Spammers register with international, cloud-based VoIP (IP calling) services that lie outside India’s legal jurisdiction. These services, along with their physical infrastructure, are often based in regions with lax regulatory oversight. As a result, they are not bound by Indian KYC norms or the TCCCPR regulations designed to combat spam,” explains a blog post by telecom and IT expert Parag Kar.
The former Qualcomm executive explains that these fraudulent calls mostly originate in India before being routed through an ‘international gateway switch’. They subsequently appear on your phone as a standard incoming international call. Having passed through a foreign provider they also don’t fall completely under Indian jurisdiction any more. And with no means to verify the true identity of the caller, spammers can continue to operate with near impunity.
(With inputs from agencies)
