The government has chosen to end the call forwarding option to reduce the number of cyber fraud cases.
The Department of Telecommunications has given instructions to all telecom companies to stop this feature by April 15th.
Department of Telecommunications gave these instructions
The Department of Telecommunications has given instructions regarding call forwarding using USSD.
The department told telecom companies to stop using USSD for call forwarding starting from April 15th.
Additionally, the government has requested that companies find other ways to provide call forwarding services.
What is USSD based service?
Customers using USSD-based services enjoy various benefits, including call forwarding.
Additionally, tasks such as checking the IMEI number and balance are also performed using USSD.
To access these services, customers need to dial specific codes, which are combinations of symbols and digits like hashtags and stars.
Possibility of use in cyber fraud
The government is concerned about the misuse of USSD services in phone-related cyber fraud and cybercrime cases.
That’s why they have requested to stop USSD-based call forwarding services starting from April 15.
These services, also known as *401# service, use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).
Will have to be activated again
As per the government’s instructions, the USSD call forwarding feature will be discontinued from April 15.
Telecom companies have been told by the government that they can allow customers to turn on the call forwarding feature again.
The companies will request customers who have currently activated the USSD call forwarding feature on their phones to reactivate the service after April 15.
Customers will be provided with alternative options besides USSD for this purpose.
Companies have been instructed to make sure that the call forwarding feature is not activated without the customer’s consent or knowledge.
