Govt’s Digital Intelligence Platform unites 570+ banks, law enforcement, and telecom bodies to fight fraud.
Sanchar Saathi portal blocked over 3 crore suspicious SIMs and recovered 5 lakh stolen phones.
AI-powered ASTRA app and CIOR system cut spoofed international calls to India by 97%.
Last year, Indians lost around Rs 22,845 crore to digital criminals and fraudsters, nearly three times the Rs 7,465 crore lost in 2023, according to the government’s record. Multiple reports and researchers have warned about the chilling picture of the country being increasingly targeted by complex online frauds, including digital arrest, SMS, OTP and more.
SurveyThe number of cybercrime complaints has also increased dramatically, reaching over 22 lakh in 2024, up from 15.9 lakh in 2023 and approximately three times the volume recorded in 2021.
In an exclusive interaction with Digit, Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined the steps the government has taken so far to curb the rising number of scams.
“Let me tell you, it’s a continual race,” said Scindia, acknowledging the evolving nature of cybercrime. “When there is new innovation in technology… it brings about tremendous dividends… but along with that, it also always opens an avenue for unscrupulous people to do unscrupulous deeds,” he added.
A Nationwide War on Fraud, One Platform at a Time
At the heart of the government’s strategy is a newly developed Digital Intelligence Platform, a unified system that brings all relevant stakeholders together to counter telecom fraud in real time.
“At the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), we have developed a Digital Intelligence Platform that brings together all key stakeholders involved in curbing the misuse of telecom resources into a single, unified framework. This includes the DoT, the Ministry of Home Affairs, law enforcement agencies, police departments across 32 states, and over 570 public and private sector banks,” he stated.
With this, the government aims to ensure complete transparency and seamless coordination. For instance, if a consumer is found engaging in fraudulent activity at one point, that violation is immediately registered across the entire system, triggering a comprehensive, nationwide block on that individual’s access.
Sanchar Saathi: A Citizen-Led Shield Against SIM Fraud
Another major part of the initiative is the Sanchar Saathi portal, which enables individuals to report misuse of SIM cards and even recover stolen devices. During the interview, Scindia called the platform a tremendous success as it has become a citizen-led initiative.
“We’ve blocked close to about 1.36 crore phones where they’ve exceeded the number of SIM numbers that they can have. We’ve blocked close to about 1.75 crore phones that are either not a certain person’s number through this portal,” he stated.
What’s interesting is that the platform seems capable of solving one of the biggest problems in India, recovering stolen phones. “We have recovered close to five lakh stolen phones and taken them back to the original owner through this portal,” he added.
ASTRA: AI at Work to Disconnect Fraudulent Numbers
To counter more sophisticated scams, the government is deploying AI-driven tools. One such tool is the ASTRA app, developed by the DoT, which uses data intelligence to detect and disconnect fraudulent mobile connections.
“We’ve got a new app that the DoT has come up with called Astra… we’ve disconnected 82 lakh numbers based on that,” he said.
Scindia explained that these numbers were flagged for using fraudulent technology to obtain multiple SIM cards or bypass telecom checks.
CIOR: Blocking Spoofed International Calls
International spoof calls, where scam calls appear as Indian numbers despite originating abroad, have been a long-term problem. Scindia, during the interview, stated that the government has introduced a system called CIOR (Calling Identification Out-Roaming Registry).
“Earlier, people would receive calls that appeared to be from Indian numbers but were actually international spoofed calls. Through the CIOR software, we were able to block around 1.35 crore such calls per day. Today, all those spoofing gateways have been blocked, and the number of spoof calls coming into India has reduced by 97%, down to just 3.3 lakh calls a day,” he said.
Financial Risk Indicator: Tagging High-Risk Users
Beyond telecom systems, the DoT is collaborating with financial institutions to monitor and freeze high-risk accounts through a tool called the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI).
“We’ve also introduced a system called the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), where all financial institutions are onboarded. Individuals are tagged as high, very high, or medium risk based on their likelihood to commit financial fraud. So far, close to three lakh bank accounts have been frozen under this system, along with nearly 1.5 lakh debit and credit cards,” he added.
Scindia concluded the conversation with a firm message that the government remains vigilant.
“We are on the prowl, quote unquote, and it is our job to ensure that we stop every fraudulent transaction from taking place. Some will inevitably slip through the cracks, but we are on it. Let me assure you,” he said.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
