Government's anti-fraud initiative shows remarkable success, 97% reduction in spoofed calls

New Delhi [India], July 29 : Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia announced significant achievements in the government's fight against telecom fraud, revealing that the Sanchar Saathi portal has been utilised by 15.5 crore citizens nationwide, marking a major milestone in digital security initiatives.

Speaking to the media, Minister Scindia highlighted the dramatic impact of coordinated anti-fraud measures, stating that spoofed calls have been reduced by 97 per cent.

"Earlier, we were receiving 1.35 crore spoofed calls per day. Now these calls have been reduced to just 3 lakh daily," the Minister announced.

The government's multi-pronged approach has yielded impressive results across various fronts.

A total of 1.75 crore phone numbers have been cancelled for exceeding individual limits, while an additional 82 lakh mobile connections were disconnected using the AI-powered ASTR (Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification) system.

The ASTR technology has proven effective in identifying connections obtained through fake or forged documents.

Authorities have blocked 5.1 lakh mobile handsets and disengaged 24.46 lakh WhatsApp accounts suspected of fraudulent activities. Additionally, 20,000 bulk SMS senders have been blacklisted to prevent mass fraudulent messaging campaigns.

The CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) facility has secured over 35 lakh lost or stolen mobile devices. Of these, 21.35 lakh devices have been traced and 5.07 lakh successfully recovered and returned to their owners.

The Sanchar Saathi portal has emerged as a crucial tool in the fight against telecom fraud, recording over 16 crore visitor hits with approximately 2 lakh daily users.

The platform provides real-time data and enables citizens to report issues through features like "Not My Number" and "Not Required" services.

The portal's CEIR facility allows users to report lost or stolen handsets for immediate blocking and tracing across all telecom operator networks. This ensures that stolen devices cannot be misused anywhere in India, with traceability features helping in recovery efforts.

DGP Cyber Crime Telangana Sikha Goyal highlighted the state's exceptional performance in mobile phone recovery.

"Telangana presently ranks first in recovery of mobile phones in the country. As of date, we have recovered and handed over to victims about 88,301 mobile phones," she stated.

The success in Telangana was attributed to systematic training programs where modal officers were identified in each district and trained by state-level nodal officers from the CID. This structured approach has made Telangana a model for other states to follow.

The government has taken decisive action against international spoofed calls through the CIOR (International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System), launched in October 2024. Within 24 hours of deployment, the system blocked 1.35 crore spoofed calls, demonstrating immediate effectiveness.

To combat evolving fraud tactics, telecom service providers have been instructed to display "International Call" notifications for all calls originating from outside India. This helps citizens make informed decisions about answering such calls.

Additionally, 308 international carriers and aggregators repeatedly sending spoofed calls have been blocked. Complaints about international number fraud dropped from 2,776 cases in January 2025 to single-digit numbers by June 2025.

The Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) has created a secure network of 620 organizations working as national-level watchdogs. This includes central security agencies, 35 state police forces, telecom service providers, and GSTN, creating a comprehensive security ecosystem.

The ASTR system has analyzed 134 crore mobile connections, leading to the disconnection of over 82 lakh fraudulent connections after reverification. The technology detects cases where mobile connections have been acquired using different demographic and KYC details but similar subscriber images, effectively identifying fake document usage.

As part of enforcement actions, more than 71,000 points of sale have been blacklisted and 780 FIRs have been filed against fraudulent activities.

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