How to stop unwanted phone calls and text messages.

Unwanted phone calls or random text messages seem to come at all hours. They bug you at work, interrupt your dinner, or wake you up when you’re sound asleep. I think we can all agree they’re a real nuisance. Did you know they could also be a scam?

If your phone number is one of the more than 217 million numbers on the Do Not Call Registry, you’ve taken action to stop most unwanted sales calls. The law allows political calls, calls from charitable organizations, informational calls, calls about debts you owe, and phone surveys, as well as calls from companies you’ve done business with or gave permission to call.
As the The Indian Telecom Industry has millions of subscribers, that allow the consumers to communicate with their loved ones by calling or messaging. At the same time, the telemarketing companies make indiscreet calls to consumers to sell their products and flood their inbox with promotional messages, which can be annoying at most times. To tackle this problem, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come up with a unique solution called DO NOT DISTURB (DND) registry.

What is DND?
To stop receiving unwanted telemarketing calls and messages, you can register with your service provider’s Do No Disturb registry. The service provider will in turn register your number at the National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry within 45 days.
The NDNC Registry is a database having the list of all telephone numbers of the subscribers who do not want to receive commercial calls or SMS. Telemarketers have to verify the calling number list in the NDNC registry before making a call. So rest assured, the telemarketers will not trouble you else they will be fined for calling you.
How to register your number on the DND registry?
If you choose not to receive any commercial messages or calls i.e for fully blocked registration:

• You can call 1909 (toll free) from your landline or mobile and select your preferences.
• You can also register by SMS by sending START DND or START 0 to 1909.

• START 0- Fully blocked
• START 1- Banking, Insurance, Financial products and credit cards
• START 2- Real Estate
• START 3- Education
• START 4- Health
• START 5- Consumer goods and automobiles
• START 6- Communication, Broadcasting, Entertainment and IT
• START 7- Tourism and Leisure