Spam SMS Alert: Today smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. This has not only brought convenience but also increased the risk of fraud. As soon as we wake up in the morning, the notification panel of our phone is filled with countless messages, some of which are banking alerts and some are advertisements with attractive offers. It is quite challenging to identify real and fake messages in the crowd of these messages. Often people open some wrong message in a hurry, due to which their bank account or personal data gets put in danger.
To protect mobile users from fraudsters, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made a rule that the Sender ID of every commercial message must end with one of the special characters ‘-P’, ‘-S’, ‘-T’ or ‘-G’. With this, the user gets to know even before opening the message whether it is a useful message or just a useless advertisement. If you understand the meaning of these four letters then you will also be saved from fraud.
First of all let’s talk about the letter ‘P’, whose full meaning is ‘Promotional’. If ‘P’ is written at the end of the sender name of any message you receive, then understand that it is only an advertising or marketing message. For example, if you see a header like ‘AD-Myntra-P’ then without opening the message you can understand that it is just a promotional alert.
The second important category of message is ‘T’. Its meaning is ‘Transactional’. These are considered the most sensitive messages. T is written behind the messages like OTP coming from your bank, net banking alerts, information about deduction of money from debit or credit card etc. Like ‘AX-Axis-T’ or ‘HDFCBN-T’. Since these are directly related to your financial transactions, it is very important to read them carefully and keep them safe for your safety.
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The code is ‘S’, which stands for ‘Service’ messages and these let you know about a particular update. The purpose of these messages is to remind you or send a reminder about some service, such as the last date for payment of your electricity or mobile bill. Apart from this, your flight ticket confirmation or status update also has the letter ‘S’ on the back.
The fourth and most official code is ‘G’, which means ‘Government’. Whenever any public information, vaccination update or any disaster management warning is issued by the Central or State Government, ‘G’ is written at the end of it. This code can be used only by registered government departments.
The easiest way to identify spam and fake messages is to look at the format of the sender’s mobile number. Banks, reputed companies or government institutions always use 6 or 8 character headers and these classification codes (S, P, G, T). If you get a message from a normal 10 digit mobile number, then be alert.
Never click on the link given in any message from any unknown number. These links often lead to phishing websites that can gain access to your phone or steal your banking details. Also, never share your ‘OTP’ with anyone, even if the person is pretending to be a bank official on the phone.
The biggest advantage of this alphabet coding system started by TRAI is that it saves your precious time and effort. Now you will not have to open and read every useless advertisement. You will also be saved from fraud. Remember, your alertness is your biggest ally.
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