Discover how TRAI’s new rules for 1600 and 140 number series aim to curb scams by explicitly separating critical financial alerts from promotional telemarketing calls.
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Spam calls- Representational image (IANS)
New Delhi: In a significant development aimed at reducing the fraudulent and scam cases, the Modi government has clarified the roles of the 1600 and 140 phone number series following misleading media reports. In order to protect citizens from spam and fraud, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mandates the 1600 series exclusively for critical service and transaction calls from regulated financial institutions (like banks and insurance companies) and government bodies. Meanwhile, telemarketing and commercial promotional calls are strictly isolated to the 140 series. Here are all the details you need to know about the recent action taken by the government.
This distinction is crucial for consumer safety. By creating a dedicated, verified channel for financial and official communications, the system helps citizens instantly identify legitimate calls from their banks or the government, making it much harder for scammers to execute phishing or spoofing attacks.
Modi govt plans public trust in digital communications
This clear separation enhances public trust in digital communications. Regulated entities under the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA can now reach their customers more effectively for essential updates, while users can confidently ignore or block promotional spam without worrying about missing urgent financial alerts.
“A key objective of assigning designated series for these important communications is to make such calls trustworthy for the customers/ citizen. Under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), any tagging, blocking or filtering of the calls originating from 1600 series numbers is not permitted,” the TRAI said in a statement. Moreover, the use of 140xx series numbers has been mandated for making promotional calls by entities of any sector.
“Entities desirous of availing 140 series number for making promotional calls must register with Telecom Service Providers under the TCCCPR framework and comply with the provisions of the regulation.
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The customers have the right to allow or block promotional call originating from 140 series numbers from entities of any or all sectors by registering their preference on the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry,” informed the telecom regulator. It further stated that a customer who has blocked any or all sectors from receiving promotional calls on the DND registry will not receive any calls from 140 series originating from entities of the blocked sectors.
(With inputs from agencies)
