New Delhi, 05 October (H.S.):

The Sanchar Saathi portal of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recorded more than 300 million visits since its launch in May 2023. The portal has so far helped recover more than 1.4 million lost or stolen mobile phones, while preventing potential losses of more than Rs 5,000 crore from suspected cyber fraud.

According to the Union Ministry of Communications, the Sanchar Saathi portal provides citizens with several important services on a single platform. Through the portal, people can report suspicious calls, SMS messages and WhatsApp messages, check mobile connections issued in their names, block lost or stolen phones and verify the authenticity of mobile handsets.

The Ministry said that every citizen who uses the portal not only protects themselves but also helps safeguard others from cyber fraud. Information shared by citizens is converted into actionable intelligence, enabling the Department of Telecommunications, banks and law enforcement agencies to take timely action against fraudsters. For this reason, citizens using Sanchar Saathi have been described as “cyber warriors”.

Under the “Chakshu” facility available on the Sanchar Saathi portal, citizens can report suspicious communications related to fake KYC updates, electricity bill payments, impersonation of bank officials, investment schemes, job offers and loans. People can also check the mobile numbers issued in their names and request the disconnection of unauthorised or unnecessary connections.

According to Ministry data, 6.096 million lost or stolen mobile phones have so far been blocked. Of these, 3.785 million devices have been traced, while more than 1.4 million phones have been recovered. In addition, requests from more than 40 million citizens to check mobile connections issued in their names have been processed.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar