The Indian government has advised social media platforms and application hosting services to remove content that promotes tampering with telecommunication identifiers, such as Calling Line Identification (CLI), IP addresses, and IMEI numbers.
The advisory, released by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), comes in response to an incident in which an influencer reportedly used social media to demonstrate how to change CLI numbers, a practice commonly referred to as CLI spoofing. This manipulation allows callers to display false numbers, potentially facilitating fraud and identity deception.
The advisory explicitly warns that any platform facilitating telecom identifier manipulation violates the Telecommunications Act of 2023. Social media and application hosting services are instructed to:
- Remove content and applications that enable or promote telecom ID tampering.
- Ensure compliance with the advisory by February 28, 2025.
- Report compliance to the DoT.
The government also indicated that failure to act may result in legal consequences for platform operators.
Citing provisions from the newly enacted Telecommunications Act, the DoT highlighted that tampering with telecommunication identifiers is a punishable offence. Specifically, Section 42 (3) (c) of the Act explicitly prohibits any modification of telecom identification.
Section 42 (3) (e) also bans the fraudulent acquisition of subscriber identity modules or other telecom credentials for cheating and impersonation.
Under Section 42 (7), such offences are deemed cognizable and non-bailable, meaning law enforcement authorities can take action without prior approval from a court. The punishment for offenders includes up to ₹50 lakh or both. Moreover, Section 42 (6) extends these penalties to those who assist or abet such offences.
CLI spoofing has been linked to scams, phishing, and financial fraud. In this technique, the scammer changes the mobile number to bypass device security. For instance, cyber crooks can change the number to a local one, thereby luring the victim to share personal or financial information.
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