The Union Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has blocked over two crore phone connections used for fraudulent activities and reduced spoof calls by 97 percent with the introduction of initiatives like Sanchar Saathi, according to its secretary, Dr. Neeraj Mittal.
Mittal, who was addressing the annual West Zone Conference on security matters in South Goa via video link, said, "We were able to cut spoof calls by 97 percent. We were able to see the impact of these efforts".
Call spoofing
Call spoofing occurs when callers disguise their caller ID to hide their true identity, a tactic often used by scammers to commit fraud.
Mittal also mentioned that the DoT has developed a digital intelligence platform that allows financial institutions to crowdsource information and report financial fraud. This platform helps proactively create a cyber-secure environment.
"The role of telecom in providing basic services in every sector has grown exponentially. While the number of telecom users has grown, the misuse of telecom resources in the financial sector has grown accordingly," he stated.
Measures to enhance cybersecurity
The DoT has taken several measures to enhance the country's cybersecurity. "We are also increasing the number of telecom testing labs to ensure certified high-quality telecom equipment. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the disconnection of 78 lakh fraudulent connections and 71,000 points of sale," he added.
The department is also collaborating with private partners to improve sector-specific and application-specific security. Mittal noted that the DoT, in partnership with other entities, has launched a financial fraud risk indicator, which has been highly successful in detecting mobile numbers used for fraudulent activities.
Additionally, he said that the DoT plans to upgrade the centralized monitoring system. "We are working to improve the capacity of the internet monitoring system, which is used extensively by law enforcement agencies," he concluded.
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