Sanchar Saathi crosses 30 crore visits, helps recover over 14 lakh lost and stolen mobiles

New Delhi: The Sanchar Saathi portal, developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has recorded more than 30 crore visits since its launch in May 2023, reflecting growing public participation in the fight against telecom-enabled frauds and cybercrime, it was announced on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Communications, the platform has evolved into a key citizen-centric tool that enables users to report suspected fraud calls, SMS messages and WhatsApp communications, check mobile connections linked to their identity, block lost or stolen handsets, and verify the authenticity of mobile phones before purchase.

The ministry said that every report filed by citizens helps generate actionable intelligence for telecom authorities, banks and law enforcement agencies.

Describing users as "Cyber Warriors", it noted that information shared through the platform helps identify fraudulent numbers, devices and emerging scam patterns, enabling authorities to take preventive action before more people become victims.

One of the portal's major services, Chakshu, allows users to report suspicious communications such as fake KYC requests, fraudulent investment schemes, impersonation by government officials, and bogus job or loan offers.

The ministry said Chakshu has received 12.80 lakh reports of suspected fraudulent communications, leading to action in nearly 59.82 lakh cases, including the disconnection of more than 50 lakh mobile connections.

The portal has also become a key tool for managing mobile connections issued in an individual's name. More than four crore citizen requests related to checking and reporting mobile connections have been resolved so far, helping prevent misuse of SIM cards obtained through stolen or fraudulent identities.

In the area of handset security, Sanchar Saathi has enabled users to block 60.96 lakh lost or stolen mobile phones across telecom networks.

Of these, 37.85 lakh handsets have been traced and over 14 lakh recovered through coordination among DoT, telecom service providers and state police authorities.

The ministry further said that data generated through citizen reports feeds into the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), a system that assesses the risk associated with mobile numbers potentially linked to financial fraud.

The intelligence is shared through the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) with banks, payment service providers, telecom operators and law enforcement agencies to strengthen fraud detection and prevent suspicious transactions.

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