Lord! Is this another spam call? Here’s why scammers keep contacting you

THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to update regulations controlling spam calls in the coming weeks, amid a growing barrage of scams and deceptive interactions. Recent estimates suggest Indian SIM card holders receive billions unwanted calls every month – spread across hundreds of sites.

“Spamers sign up with international cloud-based VoIP (IP calling) services that fall outside India’s legal jurisdiction. These services, along with their physical infrastructure, are often based in regions with lax regulatory oversight. As a result, they are not bound by Indian KYC norms or TCCCPR regulations designed to combat spam,” explains a blog post by telecom and IT expert Parag Kar.

The old Qualcomm The official explains that these scam calls mainly originate from India before being routed through an “international gateway switch”. They then appear on your phone as a standard incoming international call. Having passed through a foreign supplier, they no longer fall entirely under Indian jurisdiction. And with no way to verify the true identity of the caller, spammers can continue to act with impunity.

According to the expert, some countries have now started to implement an industry framework called STIR/SHAKEN to combat caller ID spoofing.

“Under this system, when a call is made, the originating service provider attaches a digitally signed token – essentially a secure ‘certificate of authenticity’ – to the call signaling data. The end provider uses a public key infrastructure (PKI) to validate this token. If the signature is correct, the call can be presented to the user as verified; otherwise, it is flagged as unverified, informing the recipient that the caller’s identity could not be confirmed,” adds Kar.

The verification process doesn’t stop calls from coming in, but can provide vital context and amplify user trust. The framework, however, requires IP-based signaling (SIP) inherent in 4G and 5G networks.

(With contribution from agencies)