'ECI-SIR' message: your voter form details do not match
A message headed "ECI-SIR" says your voter form details do not match and gives a mobile number to call. The "election official" who answers asks for your bank details, has you pay Rs 10 by debit card to "confirm the account", and then asks you to share your phone screen while the OTP arrives.
⚙️ How it works
The message carries a phone number rather than a link, so you ring them and it feels like you started the contact. Posing as an Election Commission officer or your BLO, the caller asks for bank details "to verify your identity", then has you send Rs 10 from your debit card to "confirm" the account is yours. He then asks you to share your screen while the bank's SMS and OTP arrive - once he can see the screen he has the card number, the one-time code and your net-banking session, and the account is emptied. A 74-year-old in Pune lost Rs 9.91 lakh of the Rs 10 lakh he had this way. In a newer twist (Pune, October 2026) the "Election Commission official" simply calls and says your voter card needs an update, then has you install an APK file - that app lets him watch your screen and read your banking passwords. An 80-year-old in Yerwada lost Rs 5 lakh this way.
🚩 Red flags
- A message or call about your voter form, the SIR or enumeration exercise, or a "name mismatch", that gives a mobile number to ring
- An "election official" or "BLO" who asks for bank, debit-card or UPI details - no electoral-roll correction ever needs them
- Being asked to pay a token Rs 5, Rs 10 or Rs 25 "to verify" the correction
- Being asked to install an APK file or a screen-sharing app for a "voter card update", or to share your screen while an OTP arrives
- The message says the mismatch is in a relative's name, so you act in a hurry for someone else
✅ What to do
- Correct voter details only on the Election Commission's own portal, or in person with your BLO at the polling booth - never on a number that was sent to you.
- No electoral-roll work ever needs a payment, a card number, an OTP, an app installed from a link, or your screen.
- Hang up and call back only on your district election office's published number.
- If you shared your screen or a code, call your bank on the number printed on the back of your card, block the card and freeze the account.
- Report it on cybercrime.gov.in or by calling 1930 the same day - money is recoverable mainly in the first few hours.
Source: freepressjournal.in
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