Trai directs service providers to stop spam calls, blacklist callers

India's telecom watchdog on Tuesday directed service providers to stop all promotional calls from unregistered callers and blacklist them as it looks to tackle a surge in spam and phishing calls that has seen people lose millions of rupees.

The government has been looking to clamp down on the spike in such calls including those where scammers pose as representatives of firms like FedEx and Blue Dart and extract sensitive financial information by sending phishing links in the pretext of retrieving lost packages.

"All promotional voice calls from the unregistered senders/unregistered telemarketer using Telecom Resources shall be stopped immediately," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a statement shared by the government.

Such unregistered callers will be blacklisted for up to two years, the statement said, adding that telecom service providers would need to submit updates on action taken on scam callers on the 1st and 16th of every month.
 

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)