With the penetration of smartphones and increasingly sophisticated scam techniques, phone fraud is now one of the most common types of financial crime. The government has now launched Chakshu that allows citizens to report suspicious or unwanted communications received through calls, SMS, or WhatsApp. These may include scams related to cyber-crime, financial fraud, impersonation, fake services or offers, etc.
In today’s digital world, fraud using a mobile phone has become a major issue, exploiting our reliance on phones to deceive and steal from people. With the penetration of smartphones and increasingly sophisticated scam techniques, phone fraud is now one of the most common types of financial crime. Scammers use various methods, including fake calls, spoofed numbers, fraudulent investment offers, and identity theft schemes, to trick their targets.
Even earlier in 2024, many incidents were reported where fraudsters posing as FedEx representatives deceived individuals into providing personal information. During the calls, the scammers claimed that authorities had seized the recipients’ parcels due to suspected illegal items. They pressured the recipients to provide sensitive details, such as credit card information, under the pretence of resolving the issue or paying a fine. Many have been cheated and reportedly lost crores of rupees to this scam.
These fraudulent activities are not restricted to phone calls. People have also received SMS or WhatsApp messages attempting to commit fraud. In short, the tactics have become more advanced and convincing.
Chakshu has been launched by DoT for citizens to report suspected fraud communications
To deal with such phone frauds, the Department of Telecommunications recently introduced the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to improve coordination among stakeholders in addressing the misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime and financial fraud. The Chakshu facility on the Department’s Sanchar Saathi portal was also launched, allowing citizens to report suspected fraud communications proactively.
The Sanchar Saathi portal, launched in 2023, is a service designed to help mobile users manage and protect their mobile connections. It lets people see all mobile connections registered in their name, disconnect those they don’t need, block or trace lost phones, and check if phones are genuine before buying. The portal includes tools like CEIR, TAFCOP, etc. The facilities available in the portal are:
- To know the mobile connections issued in their name and report the mobile connections for disconnection which are either not required or not taken by them
- To report the stolen/lost mobile handset for blocking and tracing
- To check the genuineness of a mobile handset while buying a new/old device
- To report the incoming international calls received with an Indian telephone number as calling line identification,
- To check the details of licensed wireline Internet Service Providers
One such module that was added recently is the Chakshu facility.
Chakshu is not designed for reporting financial fraud where money has already been lost
As mentioned earlier, Chakshu allows citizens to report suspicious or unwanted communications received through calls, SMS, or WhatsApp. These may include scams related to cybercrime, financial fraud, impersonation, fake services or offers, etc. Some types of suspected communications which can be reported through Chakshu are:
- KYC-related scams involving banks, electricity, gas, or insurance policies.
- Impersonation by individuals claiming to be government officials or relatives.
- Fake customer care helplines.
- Online job, lottery, gift, or loan offers.
- Sextortion.
- Automated or robocalls.
- Malicious links or websites.
While proactively reporting such instances can help the Department of Telecommunications prevent the misuse of telecom resources for fraud and other crimes, it should be noted that Chakshu is not designed for reporting financial fraud or cybercrime cases.
It handles the reports of such suspicious communications, including those where the sender’s mobile or landline number is visible. After verifying the reported events, the Department of Telecommunications may take actions against the sender, such as re-verifying the subscriber, disconnecting services, or filing police complaints or FIRs if necessary.
For incidents in which individuals have lost money or have been victims of cyber-crimes, individuals should contact the cyber-crime helpline 1930 or visit https://www.cybercrime.gov.in for appropriate assistance.
One must enter the required details and verify mobile number for reporting in the portal
Steps to report suspected communication on the portal are given below.
- Open this link: https://sancharsaathi.gov.in/sfc/Home/sfc-complaint.jsp
- Select the medium of suspected fraud communication- whether it is a call, SMS, or WhatsApp Message
- Provide the details of suspected fraud communication based on medium.
These include the category of fraud (types mentioned above), a screenshot of the communication received (optional), the number from which the communication was received, whether it was a WhatsApp call or text, the type of SMS, time and date of communication, and suspected links received.
- Upon entering the above information, verify your mobile number with OTP and enter your name.
- Enter the Captcha and submit the request.
The department ensures that the confidentiality of citizens who report suspicious communications is maintained. Further, they may take appropriate action if reports are found to be non-genuine, including blocking the reporting subscriber if needed.
DoT has multiple initiatives aimed to prevent cyber fraud
Apart from this, there are a few other initiatives taken by the department to prevent cyber fraud, as listed below:
- Detection and Disconnection of Fraudulent Connections: The government has developed a system to detect mobile connections obtained using fake or forged documents. Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are directed to re-verify these connections, and those failing re-verification are disconnected.
- AI-Based SMS Fraud Prevention: AI-based analysis of SMS content and headers has been implemented to block fraudulent messages, resulting in a significant reduction in SMS-based phishing cyber-crimes
- Strengthened KYC Framework: The KYC framework for selling mobile connections has been strengthened, including mandatory verification of each Point of Sale (PoS), blacklisting non-compliant PoS, and discontinuation of paper-based KYC processes.
- Awareness programs through SMS, social media platforms, publications, Doordarshan and All India Radio.
In addition to this, the department has reportedly asked TSPs to start trials of CNAP (Calling Name Presentation). It is a feature which will display the name of the caller. This is based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. It also stated that Business houses or Principal Entities holding bulk business connections should be allowed to present their ‘preferred name’ instead of the Customer Application Form name. The ‘preferred name’ could be a trademark, trade name, or any unique name registered with the government, provided they present ownership documents.
Rs.1,000 crores have been protected from financial fraud as per DoT’s press release
According to the Department of Telecommunications’ press release in March 2024, through various initiatives, more than 1 crore fraudulent mobile connections have been disconnected, including 59 lakhs based on fraudulent activities, 23 lakhs based on user feedback, 17 lakhs for exceeding limits, and 4 lakhs from inputs by law enforcement agencies, banks, IRCTC, and others. Additionally, 1.5 lakh handsets involved in cybercrimes have been blocked, and 71,000 PoS have been blacklisted. Additionally, 365+ FIRs are registered. As per the government’s press release, user requests led to the blocking of 14 lakh handsets, with 7 lakh traced and reported to State Governments. Collaboration with WhatsApp resulted in the disengagement of 3 lakh accounts. Banks and payment wallets have frozen 10 lakh accounts, protecting a total of one thousand crore rupees of Indian citizens’ money.
