By The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has blacklisted 73 SMS headers and 1,522 SMS content templates to safeguard citizens from potential SMS scams. This measure was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as part of the Sanchar Saathi initiative. According to the government, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) reported the misuse of eight SMS headers for distributing fraudulent messages to perpetrate cybercrime.
Action Taken by the Telecom Department
The DoT has intercepted and eliminated over 10,000 fraudulent messages sent using these eight headers within the past three months. These SMS headers were linked to eight distinct Principal Entities (PEs).
All eight PEs, along with their 73 SMS headers and 1,522 SMS content templates, have been blacklisted. Consequently, these Principal Entities, SMS headers, and templates are now prohibited from being used to send SMS through any telecom operator.
Reaffirming its commitment to protecting citizens from cybercrime, the DoT stated that blacklisting these entities has prevented further potential victimization of citizens.
