NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the telecom service providers in the country to discontinue USSD-based call forwarding facilities from 15 April 2024 to stop any misuse of the feature. The government has also asked the telcos to look for some alternative method to activate this feature on mobile phones. Currently, any user, by dialing *401#, can activate unconditional call forwarding services on their mobiles.
“It has come to the notice of the Department that a USSD-based call forwarding facility (most commonly known as *401# services for unconditional call forwarding services) is being misused in some unwarranted activities… It has been decided by the competent authority that all licensees shall discontinue the existing USSD-based call forwarding services with effect from 15.04.2024 until further notice,” reads the order of DoT.
The order also mentions that all existing subscribers who have activated USSD-based call forwarding service may be asked to reactivate it through alternative methods so as to ensure that such services are not activated without notice.
Recently, there has been a surge in fraud by scammers using the call forwarding method. The fraudsters call the telecom subscriber and pretend to be a customer service representative or technical support staff from their telecom service provider. They then claim there is a problem with the subscriber's SIM card. Subsequently, these fraudsters ask the subscriber to dial the code *401# followed by a mobile number. After doing so, unconditional call forwarding is activated on the subscriber's mobile number, meaning all incoming calls, etc., are forwarded to the fraudster's mobile number.
In January 2024, the Department of Telecommunications advised users to beware of receiving malicious incoming calls asking them to dial *401# followed by an unknown mobile number.
The government has been taking various steps to stop fraudulent calls in the country. On 29 March 2024, it issued an advisory warning people not to answer WhatsApp calls or share any personal details from foreign numbers, such as those starting with +92-xxxxxxxxxx.