Hack of the day: One SMS to finally end pesky calls

4 hours ago 3

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'The Times of India' brings you 'Hack of the Day' — a new weekday-series of quick, practical solutions to everyday hassles. Each hack is designed to save you time, money or stress, using tools and features within your reach — from government websites to everyday apps. In simple words it is: Simple fixes for smarter living.Tired of getting those annoying calls and messages from telemarketing companies? The government Do Not Disturb (DND) registry makes it easy to block unwanted promotional calls and messages. All one has to do is register on the government’s DND list following a few simple steps and you can end those pesky calls. Do note that this hack works for both prepaid and postpaid numbers.

Further, it also lets you customize messages that you wish to block.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to block unwanted promotional calls and messages

Step 1: Register your mobile number on the DND List

Visit the operator’s website to register for DND. For example, if you are an Airtel customer, you can visit the Airtel DND website. Here, scroll to the red section marked “Click Here.” Enter your 10-digit phone number and click Get OTP. You will receive a one-time password via SMS.

Enter it and select Stop All to block promotional calls and messages.

Step 1

Step 2: Activate DND via SMS

Send the message START 0 to 1909 from your registered number. This will activate full blocking for telemarketing calls and messages.

Step 2

Step 3: Customize blocking if spam continues

If you still receive spam, send an SMS in this format to 1909:The UCC, [Sender], dd/mm/yyReplace [Sender] with the number or entity sending the spam and dd/mm/yy with the date you received it. Alternatively, download the TRAI app to customize which calls or messages you want blocked.