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How to check if a number is a scammer in India

No app can tell you for certain who is behind a number: spam labels in caller-ID apps are reports from other users, not identity checks, and a number with no label can still be a scammer. Do not act on the call itself. Hang up, find the official number on the organisation's own website and call back, and report the number on Chakshu at sancharsaathi.gov.in.
A hand holding a grey smartphone in front of a dark suit jacket
Photo: niekverlaan on Pixabay

Before you trust a caller in India

Tap each one as you check it.

What caller-ID apps can and cannot tell you

Truecaller says its spam list is built from community reports: when enough users mark a number as spam it gets the label, and the label is removed when reports fall below a threshold. A spam tag means many people complained, which is a good reason not to engage.

No tag means only that nobody has reported the number yet. Numbers linked to misuse are cut off in large numbers, 3.40 crore by March 2025 under the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi work, so a scammer may well be calling from a fresh one. A name shown on your screen is not an ID check either.

How to reach the real bank, company or office

  • Hang up and call back yourself. Never use the number that called you or one given in the call.
  • Take the number from the organisation's official website or app, or the back of your card. The RBI warns that customer care numbers shown on search results pages are often planted by fraudsters.
  • The RBI also notes that customer care numbers are never mobile numbers.
  • Sanchar Saathi has a newer Trusted Contact Details section for checking whether a number really belongs to a bank or other official body.

Calls from abroad and +92 WhatsApp calls

In March 2024 the DoT warned about WhatsApp calls from foreign numbers such as +92 from people posing as government officials, and said it does not authorise anyone to make such calls for it. In December 2024 it said fraudsters posing as authorities were calling from numbers that do not start with +91, such as +8, +85 and +65, and that a call from outside India cannot be from Indian authorities like TRAI, the police or Income Tax.

Example. Names and numbers are made up.
Calls from abroad that show an Indian +91 number can be reported on Sanchar Saathi under Report Incoming International Call With Indian Number.

Signs of a scam call

Red flags

  • Threatens to disconnect your numbers or have you arrested
  • Says it is the police, TRAI, DoT or a bank, from a mobile or foreign number
  • Asks for an OTP, PIN, card details or Aadhaar number
  • Wants you to install a screen-sharing app
  • Tells you not to hang up or tell anyone
  • Asks you to pay to clear your name

Safer signs

  • You called a number from the official website
  • Nobody asks for your PIN, OTP or card details
  • You are free to hang up and call back
  • The number appears in Trusted Contact Details

How to report a number and check SIMs in your name

  1. Report it on Chakshu. On Sanchar Saathi, open Citizen Centric Services, then Chakshu. Choose call, SMS or WhatsApp and the type of fraud, add the details and a screenshot if you have one, and confirm with an OTP. Report within 30 days.
  2. Search it on the national cybercrime portal. Report and Check Suspect at cybercrime.gov.in lets you search a government list of identifiers linked to cyber criminals. No match does not mean the number is safe.
  3. Check the SIMs in your name. Know Mobile Connections in Your Name (TAFCOP) on Sanchar Saathi lists every mobile connection issued against your ID after an OTP login. Mark any you do not know as “Not my number” and the operator must re-verify it.

One person can hold at most 9 mobile connections across all operators in India, or 6 in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North East. Chakshu is for warning about a number; if you have already lost money, report it as a cyber fraud instead.

If it already happened

  1. If you shared an OTP, PIN or card details, call your bank on the number on your card or in its app and block the card or UPI.
  2. Uninstall any screen-sharing or remote-access app the caller asked you to install.
  3. Check Know Mobile Connections in Your Name on Sanchar Saathi and report any number you do not recognise.
  4. Write down the number, the time and what was said, and keep screenshots for your report.
  • Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
  • cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
  • Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions

How can I find out who owns a mobile number in India?
There is no official lookup that shows a stranger's name for a number. Caller-ID apps show names and labels from their users, which can be wrong, so verify through the organisation's official contact instead.
Is a Truecaller spam label reliable?
It reflects reports from other users, so it is a useful warning. A missing label does not mean a number is safe.
What is Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi?
A DoT facility for reporting suspected fraud calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages. It is not for money already lost; that goes to the cyber fraud helpline or cybercrime.gov.in.
How do I check how many SIM cards are in my name?
Use Know Mobile Connections in Your Name on sancharsaathi.gov.in or the Sanchar Saathi app. Log in with an OTP to see every connection issued against your ID and report any you did not take.

Realr does not check phone numbers, but if someone gives you their Realr link you can look them up to see which checks they have passed.

Look someone up

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

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