Truecaller rolls out Government directory feature to protect users from scammers

What is the Government services feature on the Truecaller app?

The digital government directory gives users of the Truecaller app access to helplines, police departments, embassies, education institutions, hospitals, and other important departments in 23 states and union territories. This information has been obtained from official government sources. This project aims to make it easier for users to talk to government officials and help users get in touch with the government without any trouble.

“Truecaller has evolved to become more than just a Caller Identification app and is today bridging the digital divide between the urban and growing semi-urban/rural markets in India by enabling trust in digital communication,” Pragya Misra, Director of Public Affairs, Truecaller, said in a statement.

“Our attempt is to protect people from widespread impersonation of government officials leading to scams and frauds. We believe that with this feature, citizens can easily reach out to the right authorities when in need,” Misra added.

Why is the new Truecaller feature important?

One of the most common phone scams includes impersonating government officials, according to Truecaller, which claims to have learned this from interactions with internet users and relevant stakeholders. The company said it is making a verified government contact directory as part of its efforts to build trust in communication and protect its users from frauds and scams. Users will see a green background and a blue tick, which means that the number has been checked.

Truecaller is working with different government departments to add more contacts to the directory. Based on feedback from users, the next step will be to add contacts at the district and municipal levels.

The new functionality comes just a week after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a cross-industry consultation paper on developing a native caller ID system.
In a consultation paper called “Introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) in Telecommunication Networks,” which was released on November 29, the regulator said that users’ current caller ID options, such as Truecaller, are not always accurate because they use “crowd-sourced data,” which isn’t always accurate.