Scindia chairs Sanchar Saathi stakeholders' meet to fortify telecom cyber fraud defences

New Delhi: Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday chaired a stakeholders' meeting under the 'Sanchar Saathi' initiative to ideate and fortify efforts to fight telecom-related cyber frauds.

The citizen-centric digital safety initiative 'Sanchar Saathi' integrates advanced tools such as CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) to block stolen or lost phones, DIP (Digital Intelligence Platform), AI-based systems like ASTR (to detect connections taken on fake documents), and FRI (Financial Fraud Risk Indicator) to detect and prevent potential frauds.

"Chaired a productive stakeholder interaction on Sanchar Saathi with law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, TSPs and citizen contributors. We are resolute in building a stronger, faster and more collaborative response system, safeguarding every mobile user in Bharat," the minister said in a post on X.

According to an official release, so far, over 82 lakh fake mobile connections have been disconnected, and more than 35 lakh lost or stolen phones have been blocked.

"The initiative has also successfully prevented 1.35 crore spoofed international calls within just 24 hours of launching this system," it said.

The Sanchar Saathi portal has seen strong public engagement, with 16 crore visits and an average of 2 lakh users every day.

"Through the AI-powered ASTR tool, citizen reports, and stakeholder inputs, over 4.7 crore mobile connections have been disconnected. The initiative has also led to the blocking of 5.1 lakh mobile handsets, disengagement of 24.46 lakh WhatsApp accounts, and blacklisting of 20,000 bulk SMS senders involved in fraudulent activities," it said.

Under the CEIR system of Sanchar Saathi, 35.49 lakh lost or stolen devices have been blocked, 21.57 lakh traced, and 5.19 lakh recovered.

Sanchar Saathi has onboarded 620 organisations, including central agencies, state police forces, telecom service providers (TSPs), and GSTN, forming a strong collaborative network to counter telecom fraud and cyber threats across the country, the official release said.

Scindia also launched the 'Sanchar Saathi' mobile application in Hindi and 21 regional languages, to drive its reach across diverse regions.

"Originally introduced in January 2025, the app allows users to report suspicious communications, block or trace lost/stolen phones, and check for unauthorised mobile connections," the release said.

Tuesday's interaction was attended by key stakeholders from law enforcement, telecom service providers, financial institutions, and civil society.

Citizens from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also shared their experiences with the Sanchar Saathi initiatives, recounting how they were able to retrieve their stolen handsets swiftly using the platform, the release added.