DoT asks telcos to play cybercrime awareness caller tune 8-10 times daily

The telecom department has ordered operators to play cyber crime awareness caller tune 8-10 times per day to telephone subscribers for three months.

According to the order copy sent to the telecom operators, the caller tunes will be provided by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) -- a cyber crime wing under the Home Ministry.

"In order to make the public aware about cybercrime through the caller tune campaign, it has been decided to play caller tune audios through pre-call announcement/ring back tone arrangement, which will be provided to TSPs by nodal officers of I4C. Caller tunes to a subscriber may be played about 8-10 times a day," the order dated December 18 said.

The order asked telecom service providers (TSPs) to immediately take action on the order.

"Different caller tunes related to cybercrime will be provided on a weekly basis for a period of three months," the order said.

There has been a rise in the incidence of financial fraud through new scams like digital arrest, where cybercriminals pose as police, judges etc. to extort money from victims.

The Centre and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers that appear to be originating within India.

According to the centre, such international spoofed calls have been made by cyber-criminals in recent cases of fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, impersonation as government and police officials, etc.

Till November 15, more than 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1,32,000 IMEIs, as reported by Police authorities, have been blocked by the Centre.