India to fight financial fraud with dedicated 160 phone series for financial institutions

In a bid to combat rising financial fraud, the Indian government has allocated 160 dedicated mobile phone series exclusively for transactional and service-related voice calls by financial institutions. This move aims to help citizens easily identify legitimate calls from banks, insurance providers, and other financial entities, protecting them from scams.

This initiative, spearheaded by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), involves collaboration with key financial regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

By implementing these dedicated phone series, authorities aim to create a clear distinction between genuine calls from financial institutions and those made by fraudsters.

Additionally, the Ministry of Communications announced the ongoing migration of the existing 140 phone series used for promotional calls to a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. This shift, coupled with stricter digital consent protocols, is expected to significantly reduce spam calls originating from 10-digit numbers.

During a meeting with regulators, financial institutions, and telecom service providers, all stakeholders emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts to curb spam calls and protect consumers from financial fraud.