The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued an advisory this week urging citizens to be aware of fraudulent calls from individuals impersonating TRAI employees. In its August 21 advisory, TRAI said, “A lot of pre-recorded calls are being made to citizens claiming to be from TRAI. Citizens are threatened that their numbers will be blocked soon, and they are asked to give certain personal information”, but they need to exercise caution. While digitalisation has brought convenience in many aspects of life, verifying the information source received via phone messages, emails, and calls is equally crucial for safety.

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Does TRAI Communicate Directly With Citizens?

The telecom regulator does not communicate directly with the citizens, particularly regarding updating or seeking new documents. It does not call or message people about disconnecting their phone connection if they don’t follow the instructions given via phone messages, emails, etc.The advisory says, “TRAI does not initiate communication with customers regarding mobile number disconnection through messages or otherwise. TRAI has not authorised any third-party agency to contact customers for such purposes”. Thus, users must note that any communication supposedly from TRAI should not be believed and should be considered fake.

What To Do If You Receive Any Such Communication:

The advisory further clarifies that the Telecom Service Provider (TSP) is responsible for the customer’s KYC update, mobile billing, disconnection, etc., not TRAI. If anyone receives a call claiming to be from TRAI, it should immediately raise an alarm in their minds. Even if the communication is from a TSP, one should verify it by contacting its authorised service centres or customer care.

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Lodge A Cybercrime Complaint:

Impersonating a person or a government authority is one of the common methods fraudsters use to steal money or personal information from people. Seniors must be more vigilant as they could be prone to such methods due to their age-related decline. If someone suspects a communication to be fraud, they should immediately report the matter to the concerned authorities for appropriate action. The government has launched the Chakshu initiative on its web portal (sancharsaathi.gov.in) to enable people to report fake phone calls and messages. If fraud has already happened, they can report it on the cybercrime portal or call at 1930.