Taking Privacy Into Your Own Hands
Are you tired of receiving spam calls and messages on your phone? Does this trend worry you or do you just ignore it as nothing more than a nuisance? Let us tell you, you're not alone in underestimating the potential harm that spam can cause to your personal and confidential information. Because spam has become so routine, we often forget that it's an invasion of our privacy and personal data. Our personal phone numbers are the key to accessing a vast amount of information specific to us, including our age, location, net worth, shopping behavior, preferred brands, employment status, and much more. Today, our phone numbers are linked to everything and spammers can easily access this data once they have our personal number.
Scams on the Rise
Just consider the case of Kunal, a 32 year old dentist, who was almost scammed out of Rs. 50,000, all because he ended up sharing his phone number on the wrong site. While visiting an e-commerce site, Kunal was asked to share his number, which would be used to generate an OTP, and he did so without a second thought. Just a few days later, he received a message saying his number had won a bumper reward. He then received a phone call, from an unknown number, and the individual told him that he would receive an OTP to verify his identity. Upon sharing this OTP, he would receive Rs. 10 lakhs, in his SBI account, which was linked to his phone number. Kunal was immediately suspicious and began doubting the intentions of the caller, since he had not entered in any contest. He cut the call, just as he received an OTP to validate a transfer of 50,000 rupees from his account and immediately contacted his bank to avert the occurrence. If it had been a less aware individual, they may have ended up sharing the OTP and losing their hard-earned money, since their private data had fallen into the hands of scammers.
Accessing Your Private Information
Personal data is any information that can identify us as individuals, including our phone number, name, home address, email address, location data, and identification card number. When telemarketers or fraudsters obtain different pieces of personal data, they can use it to track our online history and target us with advertising campaigns or fraudulent activities. It's crucial not to take this danger lightly. The reason for our personal number falling into the hands of spammers or fraudsters can usually be traced back to a situation where we unknowingly provided it, such as sharing it with a salesperson or entering it into an online app. This is a dangerous practice as it makes us easy targets for malicious entities such as scammers and fraudsters, and once our number changes hands, we don't know who else it's being shared with.
Steps by the Regulator
According to news reports, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is researching various technologies to reduce unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) through spam calls and messages. Among these technologies, Digital Content Authorization (DCA) has received the highest approval from government stakeholders and is expected to be rolled out on a pilot basis within two months. DCA will require customer consent for receiving communication from brands or companies and will speed up the process of receiving consumer consent on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms used by telecom service providers (TSPs). Officials have stated that the product is currently in advanced testing and may be made available for trial release to the public network. DLT platforms, which are managed by TSPs such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam, are digital systems for managing the record of sender IDs and templates.
Taking Your Privacy Seriously
Although the regulator's plans to protect personal phone numbers may seem ideal, it could take a while to implement due to bureaucratic processes. It's not worth waiting when your phone number could be shared with unwanted parties every day. To take control of your privacy and avoid this risk, you may want to consider investing in a virtual phone number in India. Just imagine having a secondary mobile number that you can share with companies like Zomato, Dunzo, Uber, and Westside. This virtual phone number would provide you with all the benefits and details, including OTPs and delivery calls, while keeping your personal number and its data secure. With virtual numbers, you can enjoy the convenience of the digital ecosystem without compromising your privacy. You can also take advantage of features like call block and verification.
Doosra – The Buddy You Need
Doosra is an Indian company which offers second phone numbers to users, providing an easy and efficient way to access virtual numbers. This virtual second phone number allows users to share it instead of their personal number, which can protect them from receiving spam calls. While the government and regulators are working to improve the privacy gap, Doosra has created a platform that emphasizes privacy in all aspects. Once you acquire a Doosra virtual phone number, the app creates a strong barrier between you and spam callers, ensuring your privacy is not compromised. It's the perfect way to protect your privacy. Simply apply for a virtual mobile number from Doosra, and avoid having to share your personal number at multiple places. Furthermore, you can easily block telemarketers and spam calls with the click of a button. This is the right time to take your privacy into your own hands and Doosra makes it easier than ever before!