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Chakshu facility of Sanchar Saathi enables citizens to report suspected fraud communications under various categories. 39.43 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected, 2.27 lakh mobile handsets have been blacklisted, and 1.31 lakh SMS templates have been blacklisted.
Government Action Against Telecom-Linked Frauds
New Delhi: Taking cognizance of rising financial frauds and cyber-crimes due to misuse of telecom resources, the Government today said that 39.43 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected and 2.27 lakh mobile handsets have been blacklisted with the help of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s Sanchar Saathi initiative.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said that the DoT’s Sanchar Saathi initiative is accessible through a web portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in) and a mobile app.
The Chakshu facility of Sanchar Saathi enables citizens to report suspected fraud communications under different categories, including fake customer care helplines, IVR/robo calls, impersonation as DoT/TRAI, impersonation as police, CBI, Customs, Aadhaar, RBI, investment, stock market and trading, KYC and payment-related frauds linked to bank, electricity, gas, insurance, online job, lottery, gifts, loan offers, sextortion, and any other suspected fraud.
To further prevent misuse of telecom resources in cyber-crime and financial frauds, DoT has established the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), a secure online platform for bi-directional information sharing among stakeholders.
More than 1,200 organizations have been onboarded on DIP, including central security agencies, 36 State/UT Police, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), 1,100 banks, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service providers, payment system operators (PSOs), telecom service providers (TSPs), WhatsApp, and others.
DIP hosts the list of disconnected mobile numbers, known as the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL), along with the reasons and date of disconnection, and the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), which is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number as having medium, high, or very high risk of financial fraud.
The suspected mobile numbers provided by citizens through Chakshu are also shared as part of FRI after due analysis.
Based on the information shared on DIP, stakeholders initiate necessary action as per their analysis on associated accounts or profiles in their respective domains.
As reported by stakeholders, the total fraud amount prevented through FRI is more than ₹1,000 crore, based on transaction declines and alerts or notifications given to citizens. Further, WhatsApp has disengaged 28 lakh profiles or accounts associated with shared mobile numbers.
The Sanchar Saathi initiative empowers vigilant citizens to report suspected fraud communications where a fraud was attempted but not actually committed.
Cases involving actual financial loss due to frauds are handled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), an organization under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has been mandated to handle cyber-crime as per allocation of business rules.
Rather than acting on individual reported suspected fraud communications, DoT uses crowd-sourced data to carry out analysis and to zero in on misuse of telecom resources.
Action is generally taken after giving an opportunity for re-verification to the mobile user.
Based on 7.7 lakh inputs provided by citizens, 39.43 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected, 2.27 lakh mobile handsets have been blacklisted, and 1.31 lakh SMS templates have been blacklisted, the Minister said.
