Trai issues warning to citizens of calls impersonating telecom regulator

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued an advisory warning to citizens of fraudulent calls claiming to be from TRAI. According to the warning, scammers are using pre-recorded messages to threaten individuals, stating their mobile numbers will be blocked soon, and asking for personal information. The regulatory body further claimed that it does not initiate communication with customers regarding mobile number disconnection through messages or otherwise.

The regulator has also not authorized any third-party agency to contact customers for such purposes.

"It has been brought to the notice of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that a lot of pre-recorded calls are being made to the citizens claiming to be from TRAI. Citizens are being threatened that their numbers will be blocked soon, and they are asked to give certain personal information by fraudsters," the advisory read.

"Therefore, any form of communication (call, message, or notice) claiming to be from TRAI and threatening mobile number disconnection should be considered a potential fraudulent attempt and must not be entertained," it further read.

The disconnection of any mobile number due to billing, KYC, or misuse if any, is done by the respective Telecom Service Provider (TSP), TRAI cautioned.

Citizens are advised to be vigilant and not panic about falling prey to suspected fraudsters. People are further advised to cross-verify such calls by contacting the authorized call centres or customer service centres of the respective telecom operators.