Sanchar Saathi: Report Fraud Calls, Block a Lost Phone, Check SIMs in Your Name

What Sanchar Saathi is

Sanchar Saathi is the Department of Telecommunications' free service for mobile users. It is a website, sancharsaathi.gov.in, and an app on the Play Store and the App Store. You don't pay anything, and you don't need to give anyone else your details to use it.

It does six things. This guide explains the ones that matter most for staying safe, and when to use each.

Warning: Sanchar Saathi is for reporting numbers and phones. If you have already lost money, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in first, and tell your bank the same day.

Chakshu: report a fraud call or message

Chakshu lets you report a call, SMS or WhatsApp message that you think was an attempt to defraud you, even if you didn't lose anything. Sanchar Saathi's own examples include fake messages about your bank account, payment wallet, SIM, gas, electricity or KYC, people pretending to be government officials, and sextortion.

• Report within 30 days of receiving the call or message; that is when reports can be acted on.
• Keep a screenshot of the message or a note of the number, date and time before you report.
• Chakshu also takes reports of ordinary spam (unwanted commercial calls and SMS).

Why bother if nothing happened to you? The same number is usually calling many other people. Your report helps get it stopped before it reaches someone who does believe it.

The rule: Got a fraud call and didn't fall for it? Report it on Chakshu anyway.

If your phone is lost or stolen

Blocking the phone stops it being used on Indian mobile networks, and helps police trace it. The block form on Sanchar Saathi asks you to have these ready:

1. A police report or FIR for the lost or stolen phone.
2. A replacement SIM for your lost number, active and able to receive SMS, because the form sends an OTP to it. Ask your mobile operator for a duplicate SIM first.
3. A valid identity proof to upload.
4. The phone's IMEI number(s), if you have them. The purchase invoice or the phone's box usually shows them.
5. The purchase invoice, if you have it (optional).

If you find the phone later, use the unblock form on the same service.

Warning: A lost phone can receive OTPs. Call your bank to block UPI and net banking on that number straight away, before you do anything else.

Check the SIM cards in your name

Know mobile connections in your name shows how many mobile connections are registered against your identity. You log in with your own mobile number.

Do this once, even if nothing seems wrong. Fraudsters use SIMs registered in other people's names so the calls can't be traced back to them. If you see a number you don't recognise, report it there.

The rule: Check the SIMs in your name once a year. It takes two minutes.

Before you buy a phone, especially second-hand

Know genuineness of your mobile handset lets you check a phone's IMEI number before you pay. You can see a phone's IMEI by dialling *#06# on it.

Walk away from a phone if the seller won't let you check it, or if the check doesn't match the phone in your hand. A phone that has been reported stolen can be blocked on Indian networks.

An international call showing an Indian number

Fraudsters make international calls look as if they come from Indian mobile numbers, so you are more likely to answer. Many "digital arrest" and fake-officer calls work this way. You can report such a call on Sanchar Saathi, for calls up to 30 days old, or by calling 1963 or 1800110420.

Our guide to the digital arrest scam explains what those calls say, and what to do.

One-page summary

1. Fraud call or message: report it on Chakshu, within 30 days.
2. Lost or stolen phone: police report, duplicate SIM, then block it on Sanchar Saathi. Call your bank first.
3. Once a year: check the mobile connections in your name.
4. Buying a phone: dial *#06# and check the IMEI first.
5. International call with an Indian number: report it, or call 1963.
6. Money already gone: 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in, and your bank, the same day.