How to report a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp message on Sanchar Saathi Chakshu

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Chakshu is a reporting facility on Sanchar Saathi, the Department of Telecommunications' citizen portal. You use it to report calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages that tried to cheat you: fake KYC updates, people pretending to be police, CBI or customs, fake customer care numbers, job and loan offers, sextortion, investment tips and similar.

It is meant for attempts that did not succeed. The Department analyses reports together rather than acting on each one, and uses them to re-verify, disconnect and block the numbers and handsets behind scams. It also shares suspect numbers, after analysis, with banks and other organisations through its fraud risk indicator.

Use it when

• You received a suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp message in the last 30 days and did not lose money.
• Someone pretended to be a bank, government agency, courier, relative or friend to get money or details from you.
• You got a message with a suspicious link (there is a separate, newer option for reporting web links).

Not the right tool when

• You already lost money or are a victim of cybercrime: call 1930 or file on cybercrime.gov.in. Chakshu is not for financial fraud that has happened.
• Ordinary marketing calls and SMS: report those as spam (UCC) on Sanchar Saathi or through 1909, and use DND to block them.
• Calls or messages where the sender's number is not visible.

Keep this ready

• A screenshot of the message or the call log
• The sender's number or SMS header
• The date and time you received it
• Any phone numbers or links mentioned in the message
• The phone that received it, for the OTP

Step by step

1. Open Chakshu on sancharsaathi.gov.in and choose to report suspected fraud communication. You can also do this in the Sanchar Saathi app.
2. Choose how it reached you: call, SMS (with or without a header) or WhatsApp (call or text).
3. Pick the category that fits, for example KYC and payment updates, impersonation of police or CBI, fake customer care, job or loan offers, sextortion, investment and trading.
4. Attach the screenshot. The form can read the sender details from it.
5. Enter the sender's number or SMS header, the date and time (within the last 30 days), any numbers or links in the message, and a short description of what happened.
6. Enter your own mobile number, complete the captcha and the OTP, accept the declaration and submit.
7. For a WhatsApp message, also report and block the sender inside WhatsApp.

What happens next

• You will not get an individual update. The Department says it cannot share results for each report for privacy and confidentiality reasons.
• Reports are analysed together. After verification the Department may ask the subscriber to re-verify, disconnect the number or approach the police.
• Your identity as the reporter is kept confidential.
• The Department reported in February 2026 that citizen inputs had led to about 39.4 lakh connections being disconnected and 2.27 lakh handsets being blacklisted.

Know the limits

• The Department does not promise to act against any particular sender you report.
• The date must be within the last 30 days.
• False reports can make you responsible, and repeated non-genuine reporting can be blocked.
• There are daily limits on OTPs and reports from one number.

Numbers to know

• Money lost to cyber fraud: 1930
• Spam calls and SMS / Do Not Disturb: 1909

Related guides

• Is this a scam? How to check a phone number, link, app, adviser or UPI ID in India
• SIM binding, IMEI crackdown and Sanchar Saathi: where India's telecom anti-fraud rules stand
• Digital arrest scam: how to recognise the call, what to do on it, and what to do if you paid