TRAI’s New Approach to Fight Spam Using Artificial Intelligence

TRAI is considering using AI and Machine Learning to reduce intrusive communications

After a previous blockchain-powered initiative yielded conflicting results, India's Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) has announced a new crackdown on TXT spam, this time utilizing artificial intelligence. A required register of telemarketers and telecom service providers was established by the TRAI as part of its strategy to manage spam, or Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), as it prefers to call it. The regulator also mandated that these companies obtain message recipients' opt-in consent. The information of over 250,000 key telemarketing companies, along with the message headers and message templates they employ, were captured by a blockchain-powered program.

Even though that app didn't always function as intended, the TRAI recently claimed that its efforts had, inside India's boundaries, reduced customer complaints regarding UCC by 60%. However, complaints continue since a large number of unregistered telemarketers haven't downloaded the regulator's app. These rapscallions still make obnoxious phone calls and send spam. In response, the TRAI has launched new initiatives to monitor the behavior of rogue telemarketers.

Since March of last year, a blockchain-based system for sending commercial communications has been operational. Only registered telemarketers, banks, and other businesses with the necessary templates, headers, and formats are permitted to send messages to clients. The system stops a message if it is not formatted correctly or does not have an authorized header. Although the method has been successful in reducing a significant amount of fraudulent messages, the issue with unregistered organizations still exists. These organizations, which include telemarketers and scammers among others, use a typical mobile number to contact clients. But it might be possible to identify such numbers with the aid of AI and ML.

Telemarketers and other organizations, such as banks, are given unique headers under the existing system so that the recipient can identify the sender. Over 770,000 SMS headers, 942,000 content templates, and 50,000 consent templates have been registered by the systems of approximately 300,000 new businesses and telemarketing firms. Businesses and telemarketers must sign up for the blockchain system or distributed ledger technology (DLT) through a telecom provider after completing a KYC procedure. The DLT keeps track of relevant information, including subscriber preferences and any special permission they may offer a company.

Telco has the sole access to the encrypted information, which is only used to check that an intended message complies with the subscriber's wishes. The messages submitted for transmission are screened using an automated method to exclude any that don't follow the rules or the subscriber's preferences.

Every day, scammers attack SMS, other messaging platforms like WhatsApp, and phone services, sending hundreds of millions of spam messages to Indian citizens. 202 million calls were made by one Indian phone spammer in 2021 alone, according to spam-blocking company Truecaller. Numerous spam TXTs and calls with a +91 prefix appear to come from India, or are at least perceived to do so, and are sent to recipients outside of the country.

The estimated revenues from scams spread by spam calls and TXTs often put at stake billions. The bad guys have many reasons to continue being bad men. Undoubtedly, regulators from all over the world will be keeping an eye on TRAI's use of AI to target unlicensed telemarketers. And we wish them luck.