Digital scams are a growing menace, and governance needs to catch up fast. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently announced a significant change: stopping the facility of requesting payments starting from 31st August. Interestingly, it turns out that only 3% of payments are processed this way—toxic ground zero for scammers who often exploit this feature by tricking users into sending money under false pretenses. A frequent target of these scammers have been senior citizens and not so tech savvy users.
A prominent enabler of such scams is the mobile network itself. Airtel, for example, markets itself as a champion of scam detection, yet every mobile operator already holds the key to identifying users—via mandatory KYC compliance, which requires Aadhaar and other personal details. Thus, they know exactly who buys each SIM card.
Back in the days of landlines, we had telephone directories that included user names, numbers, and even addresses. Today, mobile operators could offer a similar service, eliminating the need for reliance on third-party apps like Truecaller, which can be easily manipulated. For instance, one could purchase a SIM under a false name and appear as someone reputable, like Vodafone, on Truecaller. Such schemes are alarmingly common.
In the UK, Google actually shows the business which is calling if they have registered with Google Business. Why do we give data away to Google and not share with our own customers.
This leads to a critical appeal to the TRAI: make user identification transparent. Users concerned about privacy could have the option to pay for a private number status, ensuring such numbers appear as private to call recipients, fostering trust and clarity.
Promotional calls underscore another issue. All telecallers must register, yet the identities behind numbers beginning with 1409 often remain hidden. Revealing who owns these numbers could significantly deter scam activity.
Similarly, text message shortcodes are registered through DLT operators and require pre-approval. A publicly accessible database listing which shortcode belongs to whom, alongside relevant details like their website, could enhance transparency.
In India, the letters P, S, and T at the end of an SMS sender ID, as mandated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), indicate the message type: P for Promotional messages, S for Service messages, and T for Transactional messages like One-Time Passwords (OTPs) or bank alerts. This system was implemented to provide transparency for consumers and to help differentiate legitimate messages from spam. ( if you need more details on TRAI for sender ID, check this link: https://www.trai.gov.in/node/7411, unlike the election commission it provides data in digital format but not user friendly)
Implementing these three key regulatory changes ( Caller ID, SMS ID and Promotional ID) would vastly improve transparency in communications, curtailing opportunities for scams and fostering a more secure environment for all users. These changes could be critical for enhancing trust in our digital interactions.
PS: Check if your phone is diverted by going to Settings > Supplementary Services > Call Forwarding. Or use short codes like 21#, 67#, 61#, or 62#. Put * before and after the code.
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