In a significant move to combat rising incidents of telecom-related financial frauds, the Indian government has launched a new digital platform called ‘Chakshu’ that allows entities to report fraudulent calls, SMS and social media messages.
Facilitating Swift Reporting and Action
The platform from the Department of Telecommunications will enable citizens to flag suspicious communications received on call, SMS or platforms like WhatsApp. Once verified as fraudulent, it will trigger a process for re-verification and disconnection of the reported number.
“Chakshu will allow Indian citizens to report fraudulent communication…Once such information is received, the platform will trigger re-verification, and failing re-verification the number will be disconnected,” stated Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Coordinating Intelligence Across Stakeholders
Chakshu will serve as a centralized information exchange and coordination hub involving telecom companies, law enforcement agencies, banks, financial institutions, social media firms and identity document issuers.
It will maintain a repository of cases related to telecom resource misuse while also creating grievance redressal mechanisms for inadvertent disruptions or monetary losses.
The platform aims to improve real-time intelligence sharing among various entities to enhance fraud detection and mitigation efforts across sectors.
Vaishnaw said the government is open to collaborating with private apps like Truecaller to strengthen Chakshu’s fraud protection capabilities through an official app being developed by TRAI.
