The Reserve Bank of India issued regulatory prescriptions and institutional safeguards to reduce financial fraud perpetrated through voice calls and SMS, focusing on the misuse of customers’ mobile numbers. The measures apply across banks, co-operative banks, non-banking financial companies, prepaid payment instrument issuers, credit information companies, payment aggregators, and other payment system participants and providers. Regulated entities are required to use the Department of Telecommunications’ Digital Intelligence Platform, including the Mobile Number Revocation List, to monitor and clean customer databases and to implement standard operating procedures covering actions such as updating registered mobile numbers after due verification and enhanced monitoring of accounts linked to revoked numbers to prevent mule accounts and cyber fraud. Firms must also submit verified customer care numbers for publication on the “Sanchar Saathi” portal and restrict outbound communications by using the ‘1600xx’ numbering series for transactional and service calls once operationalized and the ‘140xx’ numbering series for promotional calls, alongside customer awareness measures. Compliance is required expeditiously and no later than March 31, 2025.
Reserve Bank of India 2025-01-17
Reserve Bank of India directs regulated entities to use DoT Mobile Number Revocation List and 140 and 160 calling series to curb voice and SMS fraud
The Reserve Bank of India has issued measures to combat financial fraud via voice calls and SMS, targeting misuse of customer mobile numbers. These apply to banks, non-banking financial companies, and payment system participants, requiring the use of the Department of Telecommunications’ Digital Intelligence Platform for monitoring and database cleaning. Entities must adhere to specific communication protocols and enhance customer awareness to prevent fraud.