Sanchar Saathi Portal to Protect Mobile Users from Digital Frauds
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Communications, Railways and Electronics & IT, in India launched the Sanchar Saathi portal on May 16, 2023. Photo: PIB
Sanchar Saathi Portal to Protect Mobile Users from Digital Frauds
To protect users, the Department of Telecom has developed a citizen centric portal named Sanchar Saathi.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Communications, Railways and Electronics & IT, in India launched the Sanchar Saathi portal on May 16. He said that the three reforms are being introduced towards furthering prime minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Digital India. These are:
CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) – for blocking stolen/lost mobiles.
Know your mobile connections – to know mobile connections registered in your name.
ASTR (Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification) – to identify fraudulent subscribers.
The Minister said that various frauds such as identity theft, forged KYC, banking frauds can take place by misusing mobile phones. This portal has been developed to prevent such frauds. He said user safety is also an important part of the draft Telecom bill.
According to a government statement, by using the Sanchar Saathi portal, more than 40 Lakh fraudulent connections have been identified and more than 36 Lakh such connections have been disconnected so far.
The Minister urged the users to visit the portal and avail the services. With 117 crore subscribers, India has emerged as the second largest telecom ecosystem in the world.
In addition to communication, mobile phones are being used for banking, entertainment, e-learning, healthcare, availing government services, etc.
It is therefore crucial that the users are protected from various frauds such as identity theft, forged KYC, theft of mobile devices, banking frauds, etc.
To protect users, the Department of Telecom has developed a citizen centric portal named Sanchar Saathi. It allows citizens to check the connections registered on their names, report fraudulent or unrequired connections, block the mobile phones which are stolen/lost, and check IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) genuineness before buying a mobile phone.
