International Call Showing +91 Number — citizen guide 2026

Did a caller who was outside India reach you through an ordinary Indian +91 number? Use the Department of Telecommunications' RICWIN form within 30 days, verify the receiving mobile by OTP, and submit the displayed number, date and call details. If the communication attempted fraud, use Chakshu too. If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

RICWIN is the Sanchar Saathi facility for reporting an international call that reached an Indian subscriber while displaying a local +91 number. DoT says such calls may conceal the original overseas calling party by manipulating the Calling Line Identity. The report helps DoT look for illegal telecom exchanges and take appropriate action after verification.

One call can fit more than one row. For example, an overseas call disguised as +91 that also threatens a fake “digital arrest” can be reported through both RICWIN and Chakshu. Financial loss needs the cybercrime route immediately.

The deadlines are not interchangeable. The live Sanchar Saathi pages use 30 days for RICWIN and Chakshu. TRAI's current UCC guidance uses three days for a formal 1909 complaint. A later UCC submission can still assist spam analysis, but should not be described as a timely formal complaint.

The Telecommunications Act, 2023, section 42(3) covers conduct including using identifiers that were not allotted or permitted, tampering with telecommunication identifiers, and obtaining a SIM or other identifier through fraud, cheating or personation. Section 42 has been in force since 26 June 2024.

That does not mean a RICWIN report proves an offence. DoT says it verifies the information and examines whether an illegal telecom exchange is operating.

If the caller also pretends to be a police officer, bank employee, TRAI official or relative to cheat someone, section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 defines cheating by personation. A RICWIN report is still not an FIR or a finding that this offence occurred.

DoT manages this telecom-reporting system. Actual cybercrime goes through the Ministry of Home Affairs framework and the relevant State or Union Territory police.

1. Confirm that RICWIN fits. Use it when the caller was outside India but displayed a local +91 number. An ordinary foreign country-code call is not this form's specific event.
2. Open the official page yourself. Type 'sancharsaathi.gov.in' or use the direct RICWIN link. Avoid shortened or caller-supplied links.
3. Enter the receiving-line details. The live form requires your ten-digit receiving mobile number, its telecom service provider, its Circle or Licensed Service Area, and the State or Union Territory.
4. Enter the displayed caller details. Supply the Indian number shown during the call. The form accepts one to ten digits after +91 and does not allow it to be the same as your receiving number.
5. Enter the event details. The mandatory call date can be up to 30 days old. Time and overseas country appear without a mandatory asterisk. Add them when known.
6. Write meaningful remarks. The minimum is 30 valid characters. Allowed content is letters, numbers, spaces, and specified punctuation: hyphen, comma, full stop, exclamation mark, question mark, colon, slash, percent sign, quotation marks, braces, plus, brackets, ampersand and @. State the factual basis for believing the caller was abroad. Never include a bank PIN, card secret or OTP.
7. Complete CAPTCHA and OTP. Solve the CAPTCHA, verify the receiving mobile by OTP and submit. The page does not publish an exact OTP-validity duration.
8. Preserve evidence. Keep the original call log and an unedited screenshot. Save any confirmation or reference the portal presents.

If the web form cannot represent the event, the same official page lists 1963 and 1800110420 as alternative reporting numbers. The official FAQ also points to the Sanchar Saathi mobile app. The app can be useful when the call remains in the phone log, but this guide does not assume that every app field is identical to the web form.

The live form shows no document-upload field. Keep these details safely:

• The receiving mobile for OTP, its provider, Circle or LSA, and State or Union Territory.
• The displayed Indian number, call date and preferably the exact time.
• The overseas country, if known, and factual remarks of at least 30 characters.
• The unedited call log and any separate fraud, link or payment evidence.

Use facts and placeholders rather than guesses:

Call appeared from +91-[DISPLAYED NUMBER] on [DATE] at [TIME].
I believe the caller was outside India because [FACTUAL BASIS].
The caller claimed to be [CLAIMED IDENTITY] and said [SHORT SUMMARY].

Report what appeared, what was said and why you believe the call originated abroad. Do not declare the person a criminal or the number definitely spoofed.

Sanchar Saathi's official FAQ says DoT verifies the information, checks whether an illegal telecom exchange is operating and takes necessary action if one is found. The FAQ also says DoT ensures the confidentiality of the vigilant citizen who reports the call.

The public form does not promise individual blocking, tracing, a callback, action within a fixed time, or money recovery.

• Wrong call type. RICWIN is for overseas origin displayed as an Indian number. A suspicious domestic call may belong on Chakshu.
• Missing 30 days. Preserve details and report before the mandatory date field stops accepting the event.
• Treating a report as an FIR. Telecommunications Act section 42 identifies offences, but a RICWIN report proves none and replaces no criminal complaint.
• Mixing official clocks. Formal UCC complaint: three days. RICWIN and Chakshu: 30 days. Cybercrime or financial loss: 1930 immediately.
• Vague remarks. Give the displayed number, date, claimed identity and factual basis for overseas origin.
• Including secrets. RICWIN needs no bank PIN, CVV, password or caller-requested OTP.
• Expecting a guaranteed result. The official page promises no individual blocking, recovery or prosecution.

RTI obtains existing records; it does not compel faster investigation or disclose protected subscriber data. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, you can seek the current RICWIN procedure or aggregate figures.

To: The Central Public Information Officer
Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications

Subject: Information under RTI Act, 2005, section 6(1), regarding RICWIN

Please provide:
1. A certified copy of the current RICWIN report-processing SOP.
2. Month-wise aggregate reports received and disposed of from [DATE] to [DATE].
3. Current record-retention and reporter-confidentiality instructions.

Please sever exempt portions under section 10 and provide the remainder. If any
item is held by another public authority, transfer it under section 6(3). Please
reply within the period prescribed by section 7(1).

Adapt it with the AI RTI Drafter, track section 7(1) using the Timeline Tracker, and use the First Appeal Builder if needed. Never substitute RTI for 1930 in an active fraud.

RICWIN means Report Incoming International Call With Indian Number. It covers an overseas call that displayed a local Indian +91 number to its recipient in India.

The mandatory date field says “up to 30 days old”. The separate three-day TRAI window concerns a formal UCC complaint.

It requires the receiving ten-digit mobile number, telecom provider, Circle or LSA, State or Union Territory, displayed Indian number, call date, remarks of at least 30 valid characters, CAPTCHA and OTP verification. Time and overseas country appear without mandatory asterisks on the live form.

The form requires a numeric Indian number. For a blank or private display, use 1963 or 1800110420 and add Chakshu if fraud was attempted.

Use Chakshu for the fraud attempt. Add RICWIN if the caller was abroad but displayed +91. DoT warns that TRAI does not contact customers to threaten disconnection.

Use 1909, your operator or the approved DND route for a formal UCC complaint, currently within three days under TRAI guidance. Sanchar Saathi also has a Chakshu UCC reporting option with a 30-day investigation window. Keep the two descriptions and deadlines distinct.

Call 1930 immediately, inform the bank or payment provider through an independently verified contact, and complete the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. RICWIN and Chakshu can provide telecom intelligence, but neither is a substitute for the financial-cybercrime route.

No. DoT says it verifies information, looks for an illegal exchange and acts if one is found. Its FAQ says reporter details are confidential, but promises no block, trace, recovery or fixed action time.

• Sanchar Saathi RICWIN live reporting form, Department of Telecommunications
• Sanchar Saathi service descriptions and RICWIN FAQs
• PIB, launch of the International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System, 22 October 2024
• PIB, DoT action on spoofed calls and International Call labelling, 24 January 2025
• PIB, current DoT telecom-fraud measures, 4 February 2026
• Sanchar Saathi Chakshu live reporting page
• TRAI, complain or report against UCC
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and helpline 1930
• India Code, Telecommunications Act, 2023, section 42

• Report a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp message on Chakshu
• Stop spam calls and SMS through TRAI DND and 1909
• What to say when you call cyber-fraud helpline 1930
• Check SIMs issued in your name through TAFCOP
• Check whether a SIM re-verification message is genuine
• Block a lost or stolen mobile and SIM
• Use the official Sanchar Saathi mobile app
• Check an RTI reply with the PIO Reply Checker