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India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under Ministry of Communications, has joined forces with WhatsApp to expand Meta’s safety campaign, ‘Scam Se Bacho,’ aimed at combating spam and online scams. This initiative seeks to enhance digital security and awareness by educating citizens on identifying and reporting suspicious or fraudulent communications.
The DoT stated that it has been proactively implementing measures to prevent the misuse of telecom services in cybercrime and financial fraud. Under the Sanchar Saathi programme, citizens can report suspected fraudulent calls and messages, verify mobile connections, and locate lost or stolen handsets through a dedicated portal and mobile app. Additionally, the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) facilitates real-time data sharing between the DoT and over 550 stakeholders, including banks and law enforcement agencies, to combat telecom-related fraud.
For greater outreach, the project will involve train-the trainer sessions for DoT officials, Sanchar Mitras, TSPs, and field units. WhatsApp will also consider embedding Sanchar Saathi services in its platform for greater accessibility for users across the country.
"WhatsApp will further engage with DoT to examine possibilities to develop citizen-centric services of Sanchar Saathi initiatives on WhatsApp platform for increased outreach of Sanchar Saathi," the Ministry of Communications said in a statement on 17th March.
Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, sat down with Union Minister of Communication and Development of the North East Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, to talk about the continued partnership between DoT and Meta. WhatsApp is already collaborating with DoT's Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) to proactively act against telecom abuse for cybercrime and fraud.
Emphasizing the significance of the collaboration, Minister Scindia said, "As India forges ahead with its journey of digital transformation, the safety and security of our citizens is paramount. Our association with Meta consolidates this vision to safeguard our citizens from scams and cyber crimes. Through partnering with WhatsApp's extensive digital landscape, we are enhancing efforts so that our digital environment is not only secure and resilient but is so for all."