Chakshu Portal Launched by Government to Curb Cyber Fraud Committed via Phone Calls, SMS, and WhatsApp

Chakshu portal, a platform to report suspected communications of cyber fraud, was launched by the government of India on Monday. The portal was created alongside the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) which will be used for real-time intelligence sharing and coordination between all the stakeholders. The Chakshu portal can be used to report phone calls, SMS, and WhatsApp messages that appear to be fraudulent. Both of them are part of the Sanchar Saathi portal which was launched for the public in May 2023.

What is Chakshu portal

The Chakshu portal was unveiled by the Union Minister of Communications, and Electronics and Informational Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw as an initiative by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Announcing it in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official account of DoT said, “This initiative targets telecom resource misuse and strengthens citizen protection against cyber frauds.”

Notably, the Chakshu portal is not meant for financial fraud or cyber crimes that have already been committed. Victims of such crimes should report it to the cyber crime cell. The newly launched platform is aimed at suspected instances of cyber fraud. If a person receives a phone call, SMS, or a message on WhatsApp that appears to be fraudulent, then they can take a screenshot of the message and report it on Chakshu. The communication should not be older than 30 days. The platform states that communications relating to bank accounts, payment wallets, SIM, gas connections, electricity connections, KYC updates, expiry, or deactivation, impersonation as a government official or a relative, sextortion, and similar cases can be reported.

How Chakshu portal works

Using the platform is fairly simple. There is a single-page form that users need to fill out in order to report a potential cybercrime. First, users need to visit the portal, which can be accessed here. Click on Continue to report to move to the next screen. There, users need to fill out multiple details. Information such as the medium of communication, category of suspected fraud, date and time, and details of the communications need to be filled out. Users will also have to attach a screenshot of the suspected communication. It can be a message or a screenshot of the call log. The attachment should not be more than 1MB in size.

Once these details are filled in, the user will be required to fill out some personal details as well. These include name and phone number. At the end, users need to fill out a captcha, verify their number via an OTP, and submit the report. Once the report has been substantiated, the suspected number will be asked to re-verify its details and the failure to do so will result in the deactivation of the number.