If you block calls coming from 140 or 1600 series considering them as spam, then be careful now. Telecom regulator TRAI has made it clear that these numbers are used for different purposes and they cannot be tagged or blocked arbitrarily.
TRAI gave this information
According to TRAI, the 1600 series is used for important calls related to services and transactions of banks, insurance companies, institutions like RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA and government departments. Like for OTP, bank alert, KYC or government information. In such a situation, blocking these numbers by calling them spam is against the rules.
What is the use of 140 series number?
Apart from this, 140 series numbers have been earmarked for promotional or marketing calls. If a customer has given permission to take promotional calls from any sector in DND (Do Not Disturb), then he can get 140 series calls from that sector. Such numbers also cannot be tagged as spam or filtered without any reason.
Clarification given on 140 and 1600 series
TRAI said that in recent times misconceptions were spreading regarding 140 and 1600 series. To remove these, this clarification has been issued, so that people do not miss important calls and there is no confusion regarding these numbers.
What is the reason for the problem?
It is worth noting that call management apps like Truecaller, Hiya and Whoscall have now started calling 140 and 1600 series numbers as spam, on which TRAI has sought the status of Authorized Agency under the IT Act. At the same time, MeitY has given in-principle consent to this demand, which has increased the hope of TRAI getting a way to send notices to these apps and take action against breaking the rules.
Truecaller had given this information
Truecaller has also presented its stand in this matter. The company says that no call can be considered reliable just because the number is 140 or 1600. The company claims that people do not answer about 5 crore calls received daily from these two series. Releasing the data, the company has said that in the last 8 months, users ignored 81 percent of calls of 140 series and 79 percent of calls of 1600 series, which means that due to the information being hidden, people are disconnecting every unknown call considering it suspicious.
Also read: Truecaller had started calling government and bank calls as spam, now TRAI will take action?
