The Ministry of Communications has endorsed a proposal by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to conduct joint trials aimed at stopping cross-border telephone fraud. Union Minister of State for Communications Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani announced India’s support for the initiative while addressing an ITU Roundtable during the India Mobile Congress 2026 in New Delhi on 9 October 2026.
The announcement comes as India battles a surge in organised fraud targeting citizens through spoofed calls, impersonation scams, digital arrest hoaxes, and AI-generated voice cloning. According to the ministry, Indians lost over ₹22,800 crore to cross-border fraud in 2024 alone.
Key facts
- ASTR, an AI-based tool developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), has disconnected over 82 lakh fraudulent mobile connections
- Sanchar Saathi app has been downloaded approximately 25 million times
- Financial Fraud Risk Indicator prevented suspected losses exceeding ₹5,000 crore in 15 months
- Digital Intelligence Platform connects over 1,600 organisations including telecom operators, banks and law-enforcement agencies
- Real-time blocking of spoofed international calls is already operational
- Announcement made on 9 October 2026 at ITU Roundtable during India Mobile Congress 2026
India’s five-layered defence strategy
The government has built a multi-level approach to combat fraudulent communications. The strategy includes real-time blocking of spoofed international calls at network entry points, identification of fraudulent mobile connections through the ASTR tool, citizen participation channels via the Sanchar Saathi app, intelligence sharing through the Digital Intelligence Platform, and measures targeting emerging fraud channels not yet widely exploited.
The need for international cooperation
Dr Pemmasani emphasised that telecom fraud operates across borders and therefore cannot be solved by individual nations acting alone. He stated that fraud is fundamentally a network problem requiring a network solution, and because telecommunications networks are global, the answer must also be global.
The current challenge is that individual countries lack the ability to verify caller identity across international networks. This gap allows fraudsters to misrepresent their identity when making calls across borders. The ITU is developing international standards that would enable digital verification of caller identity in cross-border calls, similar to how signatures are verified in traditional communications.
ITU proposal and India’s participation
The ITU has proposed conducting joint trials involving governments, regulators, telecom operators and technology companies to test these new standards. Dr Pemmasani stated that India is ready to contribute to these trials. He suggested that trials should begin between willing countries on selected international routes, should incorporate different network technologies, and should feed lessons learned back into further improvement of ITU standards.
The trials would serve as a proof-of-concept for international caller identity verification before any global rollout of new standards.
Existing tools and their impact
India has already deployed several tools to combat fraud domestically. The ASTR system identifies fraudulent mobile connections using artificial intelligence and has resulted in disconnection of over 82 lakh connections. The Sanchar Saathi app allows citizens to check if their phone number has been used fraudulently or if their device has been cloned. It has attracted approximately 25 million downloads.
The Digital Intelligence Platform acts as a central hub where telecom operators, banks, and law-enforcement agencies share information about fraud attempts and patterns. Currently connecting over 1,600 organisations, it enables faster identification and blocking of fraud networks.
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator analyses patterns to flag high-risk transactions and has helped prevent suspected financial losses exceeding ₹5,000 crore in the past 15 months.
What this means for you
Citizens can expect improved security on international calls as India participates in developing and testing new verification standards. The move signals that India is shifting from a defensive, reactive posture to a proactive, preventive stance. As these international standards are developed and tested, cross-border fraud involving spoofed numbers and impersonation should become harder to execute.
If you use the Sanchar Saathi app, continued updates may offer better detection of cloned devices and fraudulent use of your number. For those receiving suspicious international calls, the rollout of caller verification standards may eventually make it easier to identify genuine callers and reject fraudsters.
What happens next
Dr Pemmasani emphasised that joint trials should commence between willing countries on selected international routes. The ministry has indicated India’s readiness to participate in these trials. As 6G networks are developed in the coming years, the government intends to ensure that trust and security mechanisms are built in from the design stage itself, rather than being added later.