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DoT, WhatsApp collaborate for awareness campaign against online scam, spam

DoT has taken various initiatives to prevent misuse of telecom resources in cybercrime and financial frauds.

March 17, 2025 / 22:57 IST
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As part of the collaboration, DoT and WhatsApp will work together to educate citizens on identifying and reporting suspected fraud communications in an effort to enhance digital safety and awareness.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) and mobile messaging app WhatsApp have joined hands to run a safety campaign against online scams and spam, according to an official statement on Monday.

As part of the collaboration, DoT and WhatsApp will work together to educate citizens on identifying and reporting suspected fraud communications in an effort to enhance digital safety and awareness. ”Department of Telecommunications collaborates with WhatsApp to extend ’Scam Se Bacho’, Meta’s safety campaign against online scams and spam,” the statement said. Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan and Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia met on Monday and discussed the effectiveness of the ongoing collaboration between DoT and Meta.

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"WhatsApp is collaborating with the Digital Intelligence Unit of DoT and using the information provided by DIP for proactive action on misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime and financial frauds,” the statement said. Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) of DoT exchanges bidirectional digital intelligence with 550 stakeholders like banks, law enforcement agencies, about misuse of telecom resources and subsequent action. Telecom operators under the aegis of industry body COAI have been demanding to bring over-the-top players like WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Meet, etc, under the telecom rules and mandate such communication apps to run awareness campaigns in the same manner as telcos are doing to curb online scam and spam.

However, the government has not taken any action in line with the demand of telecom operators. DoT has taken various initiatives to prevent misuse of telecom resources in cybercrime and financial frauds. This includes a caller tune that has to be played on the telecom operators network to alert people about the various forms of online scams. As part of the collaboration, WhatsApp will also work with DoT to explore ways to build citizen-centric services of Sanchar Saathi initiatives. ”As India advances on its path of digital transformation, ensuring the safety and security of our citizens remains a top priority. Our partnership with Meta strengthens this commitment to protect our people from fraudulent communications and cyber threats.