With the rise in mobile payments and a digital ecosystem in India where there’s an app for almost everything, the government has taken note that it is important to set up a new unit to fight financial frauds and safeguard people’s trust in digital services. The government is working on creating a nodal agency, named as Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU).
“The main function of DIU will be to coordinate with various LEAs, Financial Institutions and telecom service providers in investigating any fraudulent activity involving telecom resources,” the ministry of communications said in a press statement.
Officials also suggested that to protect the interests of the consumers, “at License Service Area level, Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAFCOP) system will also be created.”
With the new initiatives, the central government expects to make financial digital transactions primarily through mobile more secure.
The new development comes after a “high-level meeting” chaired by telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took place to address the concern and irritation of consumers over pesky marketing calls, repeated harassment through SMS, promising fraudulent loan transactions, etc.
The officials admitted that Do-Not Disturb (DND) service was not as effective as it was expected. “Even subscribers registered in Do-Not Disturb (DND) service continue to receive commercial communication from Registered Tele-Marketers (RTMs) and further Unregistered Tele-Marketers (UTMs) are also sending commercial communication to the subscribers,” it noted. The minister directed officials to take strict action to stop harassment of telecom subscribers. Also, a web or mobile app and SMS based system will be developed for effective handling of pesky calls and SMS along with financial frauds.