Calls offering fake jobs, fraud schemes, or spams ruining your day? Know what you can do to protect your money

Are you frustrated by all the spam messages and unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) you receive during the day, asking you to take a loan or credit card? You have installed a spam detector and spam blocker, but continue to receive multiple fraudulent calls and messages that offer unreal returns on investments, or fake jobs?

You can lodge your complaints related to fraud or unsolicited commercial communications on the Chakshu portal of Sanchar Saathi of the Department of Telecommunications.

Fraudulent communication includes individuals impersonating the govt. official/relative to demand money, and asking you to click on unsafe links and to share OTP, etc. The caller may threaten to disconnect or deactivate your SIM/electricity/ gas/bank account connection if you fail to do so. On the other hand, spam refers to multiple messages/calls that you may receive from various entities, even after you have explicitly registered your preference with your telecom service provider to not receive it. Read on to learn how you can report spam and fraud calls.

You can report suspected fraud communication on the Chakshu portal on Sanchar Saathi’s official website. You can report such communication, irrespective of whether you’ve received it via voice call, SMS, or WhatsApp message/ call. The sender’s number should be visible.

Under Citizen Centric Service on Sanchar Saathi’s official website, choose Chakshu. You can file a complaint on Chakshu by selecting the medium and category of fraud communication. Provide the details of suspected fraud communication. Attaching a screenshot is optional. Verify your mobile number with OTP and enter your name. Then, click the submit button to submit the request.

You can report all the fraudulent communications you have received over the last 30 days on this website. However, if you have already lost money to financial fraud, or are a victim of cybercrime, simply reporting on Chakshu won't suffice. You should call the helpline (1930) and report the same on the cybercrime reporting portal.

Note that communication from central and state governments, or by bodies established under the constitution will not be considered spam.

Under Citizen Centric Service on Sanchar Saathi’s official website, choose Chakshu. File a complaint by choosing the medium and category of unsolicited communication. Then, input the details of the unsolicited commercial communication. Verify your mobile number and enter your name. Then, click submit. A complaint ID will be shared after this, which you can use to track its status.

While you can report all unsolicited commercial communications irrespective of their time, only UCCs reported within three days of receiving the same will be considered valid complaints, on which action will be taken. Complaints made beyond three days of receiving UCC/spam are considered reports, which may not compulsorily drive action but would aid in finding spammers proactively.

To avoid the inconvenience caused by UCC, a telecom subscriber can opt to block all commercial communications or selectively block commercial communications as per preference categories such as real estate, banking, tourism, or more. Various modes of registration of preferences such as TRAI DND App, sending SMS to short code 1909, and calling on 1909 and through telecom service providers have been prescribed. Access providers are required to make the Customer Preference Registration Facility (CPRF) available for the customers to register their preferences throughout the year on a 24-hour x 7-day basis.