DoT Issues New Rules For Airtel, Vodafone, Jio, BSNL To Protect Users From SIM Swap Fraud

To protect Indian mobile phone consumers from “SIM Swap” fraud, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has developed new regulations and procedures. Telecom service providers including Vodafone, Reliance Jio, BSNL, Airtel, and others would have to abide by the new rules. Users of mobile phones must actively participate in the modified procedure. Let’s examine the measures made to stop scammers and see if they are sufficient.

Users of mobile phones are frequently targets of fraud. These might include con artists encouraging users to click on phony links, trying to trick individuals into disclosing private information, and many more.

The main reason a SIM Swap fraud is serious is that no victims are required. In fact, thieves actively use the gaps that now exist in the telecom industry to carry out their crimes. New regulations and guidelines have been implemented for India’s telecom service providers to remedy these security flaws.

The new DoT regulation mandates that telecom companies including Reliance Jio, BSNL, Airtel, MTNL, and Vodafone-Idea restrict SMS service (both incoming and outgoing) throughout the SIM exchange or upgrade process. Simply put, while a SIM card is being upgraded or replaced, a telecom service provider must disable the SMS service.

How Can SMS Blocking Prevent SIM Switch Fraud?

A cellphone number has become into an essential and necessary element for many activities, including banking. The vast majority of messages pertaining to security, including One Time Password (OTP) messages for financial services, are sent over the SMS platform.

OTP for financial transactions, NetSecure Code, and other sensitive information or transactions are all delivered to Indians by SMS. SMS is necessary for even two-factor authentication (2FA).

In order to intercept these messages and carry out fraudulent activities, scammers attempt to obtain a cloned SIM card. In order to obtain the SIM card of their potential victim, fraudsters frequently contact telecom service provider staff under the pretext of missing mobile phones. Scammers can assume the victim’s identity and access private OTP and similar messages with a duplicate SIM card.

According to the DoT’s new regulations, telecom companies must involve users of mobile phones in the SIM exchange procedure. When processing requests for SIM upgrades, reissues, or swaps, the government authority has essentially imposed extra tiers of validation.

In the past, victims would stay unaware of the procedure. However, going forward, telecom providers must inform clients of any requests to change SIM cards or phone lines. An automated IVRS (Interactive Voice Response Service) call to the subscriber could be used to do this.

The verification procedure need to confirm that the request came from an authorized SIM card holder. The process must be stopped right away if the consumer declines the request for a new SIM card at any time.

Customers who may have actually misplaced their mobile devices are not certain how they will respond to an IVRS call for identification. However, these clients frequently go to the telecom firms in person to obtain a new SIM card for their current number.

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