BIG update on OTPs for Jio, Airtel, BSNL, Vi users, know details here

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to implement the new OTP Traceability Rule starting tomorrow, that is, December 11, 2024. As per a directive issued by TRAI in August last year, it was mandated for all commercial messages, sent to a user, to be traceable. The move aims to strengthen the security over the online space for all internet users including users of Jio, Airtel, Vi, among others. The new rules aim to curb the spread of spam messages with the ability to denote accountability to the sender of such messages. While the rules were in line to implemented at an earlier date, the deadline was extended on multiple requests of telecommunication companies, recognising the need for a transitional period. 

Access Providers have complied with these rules and implemented necessary technical solutions in order to ensure their compliance. With the deadline to comply almost running out, no stones are being left unturned for final technical upgrades and sender registrations. As per the new rules, messages from unregistered numbers are set to be blocked, which will aid in controlling spam texts. Loopholes that existed in the earlier set of rules, were exploited by tech-savvy individuals, often doping people of their money and making them fall into their scam. Now, the problem seems to be getting addressed, with the telecom industry watchdog mandating the service providers to come up with up-to-date technology to meet the requisites, set in the new rules. 

Bharti Airtel had earlier launched a solution to fight this issue using AI-powered technology. In more than two months of launching, around 8 billion spam calls and 800 million spam SMS messages were flagged by the service provider. The company said in a statement that they have successfully been able to identify close to a million spammers every day, with the help of their AI-powered network. Launched in September, the detection network works by alerting customers about suspected spam calls and messages in real time of them receiving the call/message. Over the months of its launch, the company reports that there has been a 12% decline in the number of customers responding to these messages. Its AI-detection platform has alerted close to 252 million customers of calls that were deemed as suspicious. 

Airtel themselves have identified, and said in a statement, that 6% of all their calls on their network have been identified as spam calls, while the share of spam messages stands at 2%. “Interestingly, it has been observed that a staggering 35 per cent of the spammers have used landline telephones,” as continued by the company in its report. More than three quarters of the spam calls have been targeted at male customers, which usually commence at 9 in the morning, with their volumes gradually increasing as the day progresses. In addition to its OTP traceability rule, TRAI also gave a directive regarding the whitelisting of URLs, APKs and OTT links. 

The maximum number of spams calls were received by customers in Delhi, followed by customers in Andhra Pradesh and the western region of Uttar Pradesh including Noida and Ghaziabad. In fact, Delhi is also the location where the maximum number of these spam calls originated. This was followed by Mumbai in Maharashtra and then Karnataka. When it comes to spam messages, the maximum of these originated in Gujarat, followed by Kolkata in West Bengal and then Uttar Pradesh. Mumbai and Chennai have the most targeted customers in this regard, followed by Gujarat.