Centre cautions citizens against fraudulent calls impersonating TRAI

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on August 21 cautioned citizens of fraudulent calls claiming to be from the telecom regulator.

Issuing advisory, it mentioned that lot of pre-recorded calls are being made to citizens claiming to be from the TRAI. Citizens are threatened that their numbers will be blocked soon, and they are asked to give certain personal information.

"It is to inform that the TRAI does not initiate communication with customers regarding mobile number disconnection through messages or otherwise. TRAI has also not authorised any third-party agency to contact customers for such purposes. Therefore, any form of communication (call, message or notice) claiming to be from TRAI and threatening mobile number disconnection should be considered a potential fraudulent attempt and must not be entertained," it said.

The disconnection of any mobile number due to billing, KYC or misuse if any, is done by the respective Telecom Service Provider (TSP).

Citizens are advised to be vigilant and do not get panicked to fall prey to suspected fraudsters. They are further advised to cross-verify such calls by contacting the authorized call centers or customer service centers of the respective TSP.

To prevent the misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime and financial fraud, citizens are encouraged to report suspected fraudulent communications through the Chakshu facility on the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi platform.