DoT and MHA Crack Down on SMS Fraudsters

In a significant move to protect citizens from SMS fraud, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched Sanchar Saathi initiative to crack down on SMS fraudsters. This decisive action comes after the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), MHA, identified eight SMS Headers being misused to send fraudulent communications, resulting in over 10,000 fraudulent messages in just three months.

To combat this, the Principal Entities responsible for these eight SMS Headers have been blacklisted, along with all 73 SMS Headers and 1,522 SMS content templates owned by these entities. This means that none of these entities, SMS Headers, or templates can be used to send SMS messages through any telecom operator, effectively preventing further potential victimization of citizens.

The DoT has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding citizens against cybercrime and financial frauds. Citizens can play a crucial role in this effort by reporting suspected fraud communications through the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi, helping to prevent the misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime and financial frauds.

Through the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the DoT and MHA are working together to create a safer and more secure telecom ecosystem for all citizens.