Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Unveils System to Block Spam International Calls; Watch Video
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Unveils System to Block Spam International Calls; Watch Video
The DoT’s new system blocks millions of international scam calls disguised as local, cracking down on fraud.
Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday launched the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) latest effort to combat spam and scam calls— the “International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System.” Designed to detect and block international calls that appear with an Indian caller ID, this system addresses a major loophole exploited by fraudsters who pose as authorities, courier services, or other entities to deceive victims.
This initiative comes after the finance ministry allocated ₹38.76 crore to establish the Centralised International Out Roamer (CIOR) system, later rebranded to its current name. Funding for the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), another project targeting telecom-based fraud, has also risen from ₹50 crore to ₹85 crore in the latest budget.
The spoof call prevention system was rolled out in two phases. Initially tested at the telecom provider level in early October, the system reportedly blocked 3 to 3.2 million spoofed calls each day. Full integration launched on October 17, instantly leading to the detection and blockage of 13.5 million international calls disguised with Indian caller IDs within 24 hours.
Officials report that spoofed calls constitute roughly 90% of international calls that display a +91 prefix on caller IDs in India, with approximately 15 million international calls hitting Indian networks daily. To further tackle the misuse of Indian SIMs, the DoT identified over 300,000 Indian SIMs being misused in cyber scams originating from Southeast Asia. After initiating a re-verification process, nearly 295,000 SIMs were blocked, and authorities were provided with details of the sales points for these SIMs to prevent further misuse.
The DoT shared that a significant portion of these compromised SIMs was sourced from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab. The department continues collaborating with state police units and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to curtail fraudulent activities.
