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call forwarding services : Cases of online fraud are continuously increasing in the country. But now the government has taken a big decision to curb the rapidly increasing online fraud. The Telecom Department has ordered all telecom companies including Airtel and Jio to stop call forwarding through USSD code. After this order, call forwarding services will stop in your smartphone after 15th April 2024.
Here we will tell you what is USSD code and what is call forwarding service. (What Is Call Forwarding?) How scammers target you (Phishing Scams) and what preparations the government is making to crack down on these scammers. So let's find out…
Let us first know what is USSD Code (What is USSD Code)?…. It is a short code that mobile users dial to know the phone balance or IMEI number. In simple words, USSD is a facility with the help of which multiple services can be activated and deactivated on one number by dialing one code. IMEI number can also be found through USSD code.
How does call forwarding service work?
Let us now know what is call forwarding service? And what are the disadvantages? Calls or messages received on your mobile number can be forwarded to any other number through call forwarding service. If users call an unknown number after dialing *401#, all calls received on the user's mobile are 'forwarded' to the caller's scanner phone. That means access to your call-messages goes into someone else's hands. This is a method that scammers are using a lot these days. We are not saying this, rather the Department of Telecommunications itself has warned people about this. It was told that scammers are doing online fraud through USSD code *401#.
Scammers prey on these types of people
In which scammers call your number and tell you that we are talking to you from the telecom provider company and we have seen that there is a network problem on your number. You will then be tricked into saying that you need to dial *401# to fix the network issue. Now as soon as this number is dialed, it will ask you to call an unknown number. After that, every call message and call on your phone will be forwarded to the scammer's phone.
Know what the Department of Telecommunications said?
The Department of Telecommunications has recently issued a notice, stating that users who have activated the USSD-based call forwarding service may be asked to optionally re-activate the call forwarding services. In which it is ensured that such services are not activated without your knowledge. The decision has been taken to curb online fraud, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) believes that the USSD based call forwarding service is being used in online scams and mobile phone fraud.
