Lok Sabha Question No. 671 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-06
Subject: Fake Call Centres
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Margani Bharat, Chinta Anuradha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 671 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## FAKE CALL CENTRES

## 671. SHRI MARGANI BHARAT: SHRIMATI CHINTA ANURADHA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the complaints received regarding the operation of fake call centres and being defrauded during the past three years;
- (b) the number of fake call centres that have been busted during the past three years;
- (c) the measures being taken to curb the growth of such centres;
- (d) whether the Government is aware that several of the scams are international in nature, with those being defrauded residing in other countries; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the manner in which the Government plans to tackle it?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) to (e) Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in coordination with Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) /Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) is unearthing illegal telecom setups that allow international  calls  with  spoofed  Indian  numbers.  Such  illegal  setups  are  used  to  bypass  the International  Long  Distance  Operators  (ILDOs),  for  anti-national  activities,  cyber-crimes  and financial frauds etc. So far, 65 such illegal setups during FY 2023-24, 62 in FY 2022-23 and 35 in FY 2021-2022 have been unearthed. Further, to prevent the incoming international calls with spoofed Indian landline numbers, DoT has directed the International Long Distance Operators (ILDO) to drop international incoming calls with no CLI, improper CLI or having CLI prefixes such as +11, 011 & 11, +911 to +915.

Additionally, DoT is blocking the Apps allowing origination of spoofed calls. Such Apps are also blocked at Google Play Store and iOS App Store.

- 2) Department  of  Telecommunications  has  launched  citizen  centric  Sanchar  Saathi  portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in)  which,  inter-alia,  facilitates  the  citizens  to  report  international  calls received with Indian Calling Line Identification (CLI), and to check mobile connections taken in their  name  and  report  the  mobile  connection(s)  which  are    not  taken  by  them.  Telecom  Service Providers (TSPs) are disconnecting such reported mobile connections after necessary subscriber reverification. 13.08 lakh such mobile connections have been disconnected.

- 3) Further,  DoT,  using  Artificial  Intelligence  and  Facial  Recognition  powered  solution,  is detecting  mobile  connections  taken  with  fake  /  forged  documents.  Till  date,  more  than  67  lakh suspected mobile connections have been detected out of which 55.52 lakhs have been disconnected failing subscriber re-verification. More than 70,000 Point of Sales (SIM agents) involved in selling such mobile connections have also been blacklisted and 365 First Information report (FIRs) have been registered with police authorities against more than 1890 Points of Sale (POS). 1,31,961 mobile handsets, used either with mobile connections taken with fake / forged documents or involved in cyber-crime / financial frauds, have been blocked on pan-India basis.
- 4) Telecom Service Providers have disconnected approximately 2.78 lakh mobile connections reported by law enforcement agencies on National Cyber Crime reporting portal reportedly involved in cyber-crime / financial frauds.
- 5) The  'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  as  per  the  Seventh  Schedule  of  the Constitution of India. States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes/frauds through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The  Central  Government  supplements  the  initiatives  of  the  States/UTs  through  advisories  and financial assistance under various schemes for their capacity building.
- 6) To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber-crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner,  the  Central  Government  has  taken  steps  for  spreading  awareness  about  cyber-crimes; issuance of alerts/ advisories; capacity building/training of law enforcement personnel/ prosecutors/judicial officers; improving cyber forensic facilities, etc.
- 7) The  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  launched  the  National  Cyber  Crime  Reporting  Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in)  to  enable  the  public  to  report  all  types  of  cyber-crimes.  Cyber-crime incidents reported on this portal are routed automatically to the respective State/UT law enforcement agency for further handling as per the provisions of law.
- 8) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued revised guidelines on June 23, 2021, stating that Other Service Providers (OSPs), such as voice-based call centres, do not require any registration or license from the DoT. The DoT does not maintain any record pertaining to call centres.

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