Plain-language help for ordinary people. General information, not legal advice. Helplines, portals and screen names were checked against official Government and regulator pages on 1 November 2026. Portals change: if a screen looks different, follow the words on the screen and the official guide linked in each step.
What data they hold
- KYC data: name, address, ID number, photo and sometimes Aadhaar based e-KYC.
- Call and SMS records and location data from towers.
- Recharge and bill payment records.
- Device identity (IMEI) when your phone is on the network.
Your rights under current law
- TRAI's complaint regulations give you a docket number and a free appeal to the company's Appellate Authority.
- Sanchar Saathi lets you see every SIM in your name and report the ones that are not yours, block a lost phone, and report fraud calls.
- TRAI's TCCCPR regulations let you block marketing and complain about spam through 1909.
- To port your number, SMS PORT to 1900 for a Unique Porting Code (TRAI public notice).
Your DPDP rights once in force
Sections 11 to 14 of the DPDP Act (your rights) and the duties of companies in sections 4 to 10 start on 13 May 2027 (G.S.R. 843(E)). Until then, use the sector rules on this page. After that date you can use both.
Your mobile company will be a Data Fiduciary. From 13 May 2027 you can ask what it holds, who it shared it with, and ask for corrections. It must protect your KYC data and report breaches.
- Access: a summary of your data and who it was shared with (section 11).
- Correction, completion, updating and erasure (section 12).
- Grievance redressal by the company, before going to the Board (section 13).
- Nominate someone to act after your death or incapacity (section 14).
- Withdraw consent, as easily as you gave it (section 6(4)).
Common problems
- A SIM taken in your name with your documents.
- Your SIM suddenly stops working (possible SIM swap).
- Value added services you never asked for.
- Spam and fraud calls.
- Wrong bills or failed porting.
Evidence to keep
- Docket numbers and SMS.
- Screenshots from Sanchar Saathi showing connections in your name.
- Time when the SIM stopped working, and any SMS just before that.
- Bills and recharge receipts.
- Store name and date if you gave documents at a shop.
See the full evidence checklist.
How to approach, step by step
Go in this order. Start with the company. Move to the next step only when the time limit has passed or the reply is not good enough. If money was lost or you were threatened, go to 1930 or the police first.
Complain to your telecom or internet company, then appeal
TRAI's Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal Regulations, 2012 give every mobile and internet customer a two step route inside the company: the complaint centre, then the Appellate Authority. Both are free. TRAI itself does not decide individual complaints.
Keep this ready before you start:
- Your mobile or account number.
- Dates and times of the problem.
- Bills, recharge receipts or screenshots.
- Any earlier docket numbers.
- Call your company's consumer care number (for many operators this is 198 for complaints; it is printed on your bill and in the app), or use the company's app or website.
- Explain the problem in one or two sentences.
- Ask for the docket number. The company must send it to you by SMS with the date, time and the time it will take to fix.
- Save that SMS.
- Wait for the time given. If the regulations give no specific time for your issue, the limit is 3 days.
- If it is not fixed, or you get no reply, appeal to the company's Appellate Authority. Find its name and address on the company's website, or through TRAI's grievance page.
- Send the appeal by email, post, courier or in person, or through the consumer care number. Quote your docket number. Say what you want done.
- Send it within 30 days after the time limit ran out. The Appellate Authority may accept it up to 3 months late if you show a good reason.
- You should get a unique appeal number by SMS or email within 3 days.
- Under the regulations, an Advisory Committee gives advice within 15 days, and the Appellate Authority then decides within 10 days by a written order.
- If you are still not satisfied, go to the National Consumer Helpline (below), or file on the Government grievance portal CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in.
Checked on 1 November 2026 against: TRAI: Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal Regulations, 2012, TRAI: grievance redressal mechanism (complaint centres and appellate authorities), CPGRAMS: Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System.
Check which SIMs are in your name (Sanchar Saathi)
You can see every mobile connection taken on your identity, and report the ones that are not yours. An individual can hold at most 9 connections in total (6 in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North East).
Keep this ready before you start:
- Your own mobile number for the OTP.
- Open tafcop.sancharsaathi.gov.in, or in the Sanchar Saathi app choose Know Mobile Connections In Your Name.
- Log in with the OTP sent to your number.
- Look at the list of numbers shown.
- Against a number that is not yours, choose This is not my number. Against an old number you no longer need, choose Not required.
- Click Report.
- Take a screenshot of the list and of the request number shown.
- What happens next, per Sanchar Saathi: the number is sent for re-verification. Outgoing service is suspended within 30 days, incoming within 45 days, and the connection is cut within 60 days if re-verification fails.
- If the SIM was taken with your documents by someone else, also file a police or cybercrime.gov.in complaint. Sanchar Saathi says a police complaint is lodged where connections were taken on forged documents.
Checked on 1 November 2026 against: Sanchar Saathi portal and FAQ (Department of Telecommunications), Know Mobile Connections In Your Name (Sanchar Saathi).
Report a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi)
Chakshu is run by the Department of Telecommunications. Use it for calls or messages that try to cheat you, such as fake KYC, fake police, fake customer care, job or loan offers and sextortion. It is for numbers that tried to cheat you. If you already lost money, call 1930 first.
Keep this ready before you start:
- A screenshot of the call log or message. The form asks for one.
- The number or SMS header that contacted you.
- Date and time (within the last 30 days).
- Any phone numbers or links mentioned in the message.
- Your own mobile number, to get an OTP.
- Open sancharsaathi.gov.in/sfc, or open the Sanchar Saathi app (Google Play or App Store).
- On the website, under Citizen Centric Services, choose Chakshu - Report Suspected Fraud Communication.
- Under Report Suspected Fraud, click Proceed.
- Choose how it came: call, SMS or WhatsApp.
- Choose the category. The list includes: KYC and Payment related to Bank / Electricity / Gas / Insurance; Impersonation as Police, CBI, Customs, Aadhaar, RBI; Fake Customer Care Helpline; Online job / lottery / gifts / loan offers; Sextortion; IVR / Robo Calls; Malicious link / website; Investment, Stock Market and Trading; Impersonation as DoT / TRAI; Impersonation as a relative / friend; Any Other Suspected Fraud.
- Attach the screenshot. The portal may fill some details from the image. Check them.
- Type the number it came from. For an SMS with a name instead of a number, choose With header and type the header.
- Enter the date and the time in HH:MM AM/PM format.
- In complaint details, write at least 30 characters. Say what they asked for and what they claimed.
- Add any phone numbers and links that were in the message.
- Enter the mobile number on which you got the call or message.
- Type the captcha. Click Verify Mobile via OTP. Enter the OTP. Click Verify OTP.
- Tick the declaration. Click Preview. Check it. Click Submit.
- Take a screenshot of the thank you message. The Department says it will not send you individual results, for privacy reasons.
- If it came on WhatsApp, also report the chat inside WhatsApp. The portal asks you to do this.
Checked on 1 November 2026 against: Chakshu: report suspected fraud or spam (Sanchar Saathi), Sanchar Saathi portal and FAQ (Department of Telecommunications).
National Consumer Helpline, then the Consumer Commission
The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) is run by the Department of Consumer Affairs. It forwards your complaint to the company and tracks the reply. If that fails, you can file a case before a Consumer Commission on e-Jagriti.
Keep this ready before you start:
- Bill, invoice, order ID or account number.
- Your complaint to the company and its reply, if any.
- Screenshots and dates.
- Call 1915 or 1800114000 (8 AM to 8 PM), or WhatsApp +91 8800001915.
- Or open consumerhelpline.gov.in and click Register Grievance. You can also use the NCH app or the UMANG app.
- Describe the problem, the company and what you want.
- Save the grievance number you are given.
- Use Track Your Grievance to see the company's reply. Use Upload Documents to add proof.
- If the company still does not fix it, you can file a consumer case on e-Jagriti, the official portal for Consumer Commissions. It uses OTP registration, online fees and virtual hearings.
- File the case within 2 years of the problem. This is the limit in section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Checked on 1 November 2026 against: National Consumer Helpline (Department of Consumer Affairs), e-Jagriti: file a case before a Consumer Commission.
Use your DPDP rights (from 13 May 2027)
The rights in sections 11 to 14 of the DPDP Act, and the duties of companies that go with them, start on 13 May 2027 (G.S.R. 843(E)). Until then you can still write to a company and ask. Many will answer. But they are not yet bound by these sections.
Keep this ready before you start:
- The company's published method for rights requests. Rule 14 says companies must show it on their website or app.
- The identifier they ask for, such as your username, customer ID or registered mobile number.
- Find the company's rights or grievance page, or its Data Protection Officer contact.
- Send a written request using the method they publish. Use our request letter template.
- Ask for what you need: a summary of your data and how it is used, and the names of everyone it was shared with (section 11); correction, completion, updating or erasure (section 12); or a fix for a grievance (section 13). You can also nominate someone to act for you after death or incapacity (section 14), and withdraw consent (section 6(4)).
- Save the acknowledgement or ticket number.
- Wait for the time they publish. Rule 14(3) says it cannot be more than 90 days.
- If they refuse or do not answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India. You must use the company's grievance route first (section 13(3)).
- The Board works as a digital office. Use the method it publishes on its website and app (rule 19). We will add the link when the Board publishes it.
Checked on 1 November 2026 against: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (MeitY copy of the Gazette), Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 846(E)), G.S.R. 843(E): start dates for the Act.
Ready-to-use complaint
Copy, fill the brackets, and send it through the company's official channel. Keep a copy.
To: Nodal Officer, [operator] Subject: SIM issued on my identity without my consent / complaint docket [number] My registered number is [number]. Sanchar Saathi shows the number [number] in my name. I did not take it. I reported it as 'This is not my number' on [date], request [number]. Please disconnect it, tell me which store and which documents were used, and confirm in writing. I am also reporting this to the police. [Name], [mobile], [date]
Time limits
- Spam complaint: within 7 days of the call or SMS.
- Appellate Authority: within 30 days after the complaint time limit.
- Sanchar Saathi re-verification: outgoing suspended in 30 days, incoming in 45, disconnection in 60 if it fails.
- Consumer case: 2 years.
If this happened to you
- My SIM suddenly stopped working Your SIM lost network without warning, possibly because someone got a duplicate SIM.
- A SIM was taken in my name, or telecom staff leaked my details Sanchar Saathi shows numbers you never took, or a telecom employee or retailer shared your data.
- My phone was lost or stolen, or a repair shop accessed my data Your phone is gone, or a shop or person who had it misused what was on it.
- A company keeps sending marketing after I said stop Calls, SMS or emails continue after you opted out or registered DND.
- Someone called with personal details I never shared with them A caller knew your name, address, purchases or family details, and named a company.
- My new number gets the previous owner's bank OTPs and recovery calls, or my old number was given away Mobile numbers are recycled. You now get someone else's OTPs and loan calls, or your own unused number went to a stranger.
- The SIM shop took my fingerprint twice and an extra SIM was issued on my Aadhaar A retailer asked you to scan again, and later Sanchar Saathi showed a second SIM in your name.
- Someone got a duplicate of my SIM and emptied my bank account Your phone lost signal, and soon after money left your account using OTPs sent to your number.
- My broadband or mobile provider's data seems to feed spam calls Right after a new connection or plan change, spam calls start quoting it.
Official sources
- TRAI: Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal Regulations, 2012
- Sanchar Saathi portal and FAQ (Department of Telecommunications)
- Know Mobile Connections In Your Name (Sanchar Saathi)
- TRAI public notice: block commercial calls and SMS through 1909
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (MeitY copy of the Gazette)
- G.S.R. 843(E): start dates for the Act