The Ministry of Telecommunications has asked telecom operators to deactivate USSD-based call forwarding from April 15 and adopt alternative methods to reactivate it, an official order said.
Mobile subscribers use the USSD service simply by dialing any active code on their phone screen. The service is often used to check IMEI numbers and mobile phone balances, among other things.
The order was issued to check online frauds and crimes operated through mobile phones.
In an order dated March 28, the DoT said it has taken cognizance of the fact that the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) based call forwarding service, most commonly known as *401# services for services of unconditional call forwarding, was being misused for certain unwarranted activities. .
“In this regard, it has been decided by the competent authority that all licensees will cease existing USSD-based call forwarding services with effect from April 15, 2024, until further notice.
“All existing subscribers who have activated the USSD based call forwarding service may be requested to reactivate the call forwarding services through alternative methods to ensure that these services are not activated without their notice,” it said. the order.
(Only the title and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: March 30, 2024 | 00:36 STI