If you have been blocking calls from the 140 or 1600 number series because you thought they were spam, you should be careful.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has clarified that these numbers are used for different purposes and should not be blocked or marked as spam without a valid reason.
TRAI Explains the Purpose of 1600 Series Numbers
According to TRAI, the 1600 series is used for important service and transaction-related calls. These calls are made by banks, insurance companies,
and regulatory bodies such as RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA. Government departments also use these numbers.
People may receive important calls related to OTPs, bank alerts, KYC updates, and government services from the 1600 series. TRAI has said that marking these numbers as spam or blocking them is against the rules.
What Are 140 Series Numbers Used For?
TRAI said that the 140 series is meant for promotional and marketing calls.
If a customer has allowed promotional calls from a particular sector through the Do Not Disturb (DND) service, they may receive calls from 140 series numbers related to that sector.
The regulator added that these numbers should not be unnecessarily marked as spam or filtered.
Why Did TRAI Issue This Clarification?
TRAI said there has been confusion in recent days about the 140 and 1600 number series.
The clarification has been issued to help people understand their purpose, avoid missing important calls, and remove confusion about these numbers.
Why Has This Become an Issue?
TRAI pointed out that call management apps such as Truecaller, Hiya, and Whoscall have been marking many 140 and 1600 series numbers as spam.
Because of this, TRAI has requested Authorized Agency status under the IT Act. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has given in-principle approval to this request.
This could allow TRAI to issue notices to these apps and take action if they are found to be violating regulations.
What Did Truecaller Say?
Truecaller has also shared its response. The company said that just because a call comes from a 140 or 1600 series number does not automatically make it trustworthy.
According to Truecaller, users do not answer around 50 million calls received every day from these two number series.
The company also released data showing that over the last eight months, users ignored 81% of calls from 140 series numbers and 79% of calls from 1600 series numbers.
Truecaller said this shows that many people now consider unknown calls suspicious because they do not have enough information about the caller, leading them to ignore or disconnect these calls.
