Lok Sabha Question No. 474 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Rising Incidents of Spam Calls, Fraudulent Calls and Telecom-based Digital Fraud
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Smt. Roopkumari Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 474 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 TH  MARCH, 2026

## RISING INCIDENTS OF SPAM CALLS, FRAUDULENT CALLS AND TELECOMBASED DIGITAL FRAUD

## *474.   SMT. ROOPKUMARI CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the number of complaints received regarding spam calls, fraudulent calls and unsolicited commercial communications during the last five years, year-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed the financial losses suffered by citizens due to telecombased digital frauds and scam calls during the last five years and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  many  spam  and  fraudulent  calls  are  made  through  international spoofed numbers, virtual numbers and illegal SIM cards and if so, the measures taken to curb such practices;
- (d) whether  the Government  has  reviewed  the  effectiveness  of the Distributed  Ledger Technology (DLT) framework implemented by TRAI to control unsolicited commercial communication and if so, the findings thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to mandate telecom operators to implement advanced AI-based call filtering, caller authentication or spam detection systems to protect consumers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  IN  RESPECT  OF  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. 474 FOR 25 TH  MARCH, 2026 REGARDING 'RISING INCIDENTS OF SPAM CALLS, FRAUDULENT CALLS AND TELECOM-BASED DIGITAL FRAUD.'

(a) & (b) Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) or spam calls are regulated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) under its Telecom Commercial Communications Customer  Preference  Regulations  (TCCCPR).  As  per  data  provided  by  TRAI,  the  number  of complaints received for UCC during the last five years, year-wise, is as follows:

| Year           | 2021      | 2022      | 2023      | 2024      | 2025      |
|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| UCC Complaints | 12,84,061 | 10,83,049 | 13,62,932 | 19,38,757 | 31,09,835 |

Under the  Government  of  India  (Allocation  of  Business)  Rules,  1961,  matter  relating  to cybercrime are allocated to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). MHA has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) as an attached office of the Ministry to provide a framework and ecosystem for law enforcement agencies to deal with cybercrimes. MHA has also established the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to enable citizens to report cybercrime incidents online on the portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) and its helpline (toll-free number 1930). Data on financial losses suffered by citizens due to telecom-based digital frauds is not separately maintained.

(c) It has been observed that international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers that appear  to  be  originating  from  within  India  are  sometimes  misused  to  impersonate  government officials  in  cyber-frauds.  The  Department  of  Telecommunications  has  deployed  an  International Incoming  Spoofed  Calls  Prevention  System  (CIOR)  to  identify  and  block  such  calls.  On  its commissioning on 17.10.2024, CIOR blocked 1.35 crore calls in 24 hours, resulting in nearly 99% reduction in spoofed calls with Indian calling line identification. Calls that still land on international gateways are blocked there itself.

(d) & (e) With  a  view  to  control  UCC,  TRAI  has  implemented  a  Distributed  Ledger Technology (DLT) platform on which around 22.3 crore consumers have registered their preferences regarding receipt of promotional communication. More than 3.20 lakh principal entities (businesses like banks, insurance companies, airlines etc.) and 23,000 telemarketers have been registered on the DLT platform.  As  per  information  submitted  by  Access  Service  Providers  during  the  month  of January 2026 over 8.3 crore SMSs and voice calls were blocked per day by the DLT system on the average based on the registered preferences of customers. In addition, a complaint mechanism has been  implemented  on  the  DLT  platform  for  registration  of  complaints  from  both  registered  and unregistered  telemarketers  and to facilitate  the  flow  of  complaints  among  various  access service providers for taking action.

To further strengthen the DLT framework, the aforementioned regulations of TRAI provide for deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning based spam detection systems by access service providers for identifying suspected senders and unregistered telemarketers through analysis of communication patterns. TRAI has also issued a direction on 27.2.2026 to access service providers, to leverage this AI-based UCC detection system for taking additional deterrent measures against senders who are frequently tagged as 'suspected spammers' by such systems. Such measures include re-verification of the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents of the suspected UCC sender, carrying  out  of  physical  verification,  and  disconnection  of telecom  resources  in case  of  repeated complaints.

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