WhatsApp to deregister mobile numbers used for fraud: Vaishnav

“We are actively engaged with WhatsApp and they have agreed that yes customer safety is of paramount importance and they are fully on board to deregister users who have been found to be fraudulent users ,” he said, in response to a question about steps being taken by the government to stop scammers calling from so-called international numbers on WhatsApp with the aim of duping consumers.

He said that the government has tied up with other platforms like Telegram and others for this.

WhatsApp said in a statement on Tuesday that the platform is in talks with the government to resolve the issue.

“We are actively engaging with the government to continuously ensure a secure user experience, including weeding out bad actors from the platform. WhatsApp is a leader among end-to-end encrypted services in protecting user security and we continue to provide a number of built-in security tools such as block and report, two-step verification, along with regularly running user security education and awareness . It said.

The minister was speaking on the launch of three-pronged customer-facing sector reforms, one of which includes enabling consumers to know how many connections a customer has linked to his identity. Consumers will also be able to block the use of their mobile phones in case they are lost or stolen through a web portal called Sanchar Sathi. The service is supported by the Central Equipment Identity Register. The government also introduced ASTR or Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition Powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification to identify fake customers.

The minister said misuse of mobile phones can lead to various frauds like identity theft, fake KYC, banking frauds. This portal has been developed to prevent such frauds.

Vaishnav said the solutions were in accordance with the privacy guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court judgments and would be in accordance with the provisions coming in subsequent privacy laws. India is working on a digital personal data protection law.

“In these three reforms, we have created a proper legal regulatory process by which lost or stolen mobile phones can be truly disabled,” he said.

He added that the new Telecom Bill which is currently in the draft stage, will be finalized by July after taking into consideration the views of all stakeholders, and will have enabling provisions for consumer protection. He said that the security of users is also an important part of the draft Telecom Bill.

So far more than 40 lakh bogus connections have been identified using the Sanchar Saathi portal and more than 36 lakh such connections have been disconnected. Vaishnav said the reforms would be reviewed after six months or a year.