97% of mobile users receive spam calls daily; 73% originate from mobile numbers: Survey

Unsolicited commercial calls continue to plague Indian mobile users despite a series of regulatory interventions by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), with a new nationwide survey revealing that 97% of subscribers receive pesky or spam calls every day. Nearly four out of five respondents (79%) said they receive at least three such calls daily, suggesting that recent measures to curb unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) are yet to provide meaningful relief.

The LocalCircles survey, which drew over 40,000 responses from consumers across 325 districts, also indicates that the nature of spam calls has evolved. Instead of originating primarily from centralized enterprise numbers, the bulk of unwanted calls are now being made through ordinary mobile connections, making it harder for regulators and consumers alike to distinguish legitimate business calls from spam.

Mobile numbers emerge as biggest source of spam

According to the survey, 45% of respondents said most spam calls came from mobile numbers that appeared to belong to individuals, while another 28% reported receiving them from company-registered mobile numbers. In contrast, only 13% of respondents said the majority of such calls originated from centralized company toll-free numbers and 7% from centralized landline numbers. The findings point towards an increasing use of personal SIM cards and mobile-based lead-generation agents, potentially allowing telemarketers to bypass enterprise-level controls.

Regulatory push yet to translate into consumer relief

The findings come months after TRAI introduced tighter anti-spam regulations, including the migration of banks, NBFCs, insurers and other financial institutions to the dedicated '1600' numbering series for service and transactional calls. The regulator has also tightened complaint timelines, mandated AI-enabled sharing of spam data among telecom operators and imposed stricter penalties on violators. More than 570 entities have migrated to the new numbering framework, while telecom operators have disconnected over 18.8 lakh telecom resources linked to spam and blacklisted over 1,150 entities.

Survey calls for broader enforcement

The survey suggests that the ongoing debate between TRAI and private caller identification platforms addresses only a fraction of the problem, as enterprise toll-free numbers account for a relatively small share of spam calls. It recommends accelerating the implementation of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), cracking down on the misuse of personal SIMs for commercial calling and holding brands accountable for telemarketing carried out through outsourced agents. It also advocates allowing subscribers to flag spam numbers irrespective of the numbering series so that repeat offenders can be suspended or blacklisted.