The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is a real Election Commission of India exercise. The scam riding on it is also real. Fraudsters are posing as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Election Commission officials, sending fake voter-verification links over SMS and WhatsApp, and calling voters to demand an OTP “to keep your name on the list.” A genuine BLO visits your home in person, hands you a pre-filled paper form, and never asks for an OTP, an Aadhaar photo, a bank detail, or a fee. If a call, link, or app is asking for any of those in the name of SIR, it is a scam. Hang up, do not click, and call 1930.
Who this is for
Any Indian whose name is on an electoral roll, and their family. During SIR, that is nearly every adult in a covered state. The people most at risk: voters who have heard “your name may be deleted” and are anxious about it, senior citizens who are less familiar with what a real BLO does, and anyone who received an official-looking message with a link and a deadline. The scam does not rely on you being careless. It relies on fear of losing your vote.
What SIR actually is
SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision. It is a door-to-door verification of the electoral roll run by the Election Commission of India, in which BLOs visit every household and distribute Enumeration Forms to existing voters. The stated goal is to clean the rolls of duplicate, shifted, deceased, and ineligible entries while keeping every eligible citizen on the list.
The Commission began SIR in Bihar with a qualifying date of 1 July 2025, the first intensive revision there since 2003. It then rolled the exercise out nationwide in phases. The scale is what makes it a target.
| SIR phase | Where | Timeline | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Bihar | Qualifying date 1 July 2025 | First intensive revision since 2003 |
| Phase 2 | 12 states and UTs | House-to-house from 4 Nov 2025; draft roll 9 Dec 2025; final roll 7 Feb 2026 | ~51 crore voters; over 50.43 crore forms distributed |
| Phase 3 | Remaining states and UTs, including Karnataka and Delhi | Karnataka house-to-house 30 June to 29 July 2026 | 5.54 crore electors in Karnataka |
More than half a billion voters going through form-based verification in a few months is exactly the kind of noisy, official, deadline-driven moment that fraud rings wait for. When everyone expects a message about their voter registration, a fake one blends in.
How the SIR scam works
The scam has two main shapes. Sometimes both are used on the same victim.
The fake enumeration link
Fraudsters send an SMS, WhatsApp message, or social media post with a link that claims to be the official SIR form or a “voter verification” page. Clicking it opens a lookalike website that asks for your Aadhaar number, EPIC (voter ID) number, PAN, and bank details, and often an OTP. Some versions push you to install an APK app instead of using a website. The malicious app grants attackers device-level access, which they use to run fraudulent loans and transactions from your phone.
The fake BLO OTP call
The caller says they are your BLO or an Election Commission official and that they need to “verify your name in the voter list.” They ask you to read out an OTP that just arrived on your phone. That OTP is not for the voter list. It is the one-time password for a bank transfer, a wallet, or an account takeover. Once you share it, money is siphoned from the account.
Both versions run on the same pressure line: “your name will be deleted from the voter list if you do not verify right now.” Rajasthan cyber crime officials noted the scripts warn that voting rights will be revoked unless the victim acts immediately. Fear does the work that a technical exploit cannot.
How a real SIR process is different
This is the part worth memorising, because it is the clean test. A genuine SIR contact and a scam contact differ on almost every step.
| Step | Real SIR process | Scammer’s version |
|---|---|---|
| First contact | Your BLO comes to your door in person; often a local you can recognise | Cold call, unsolicited SMS, or a WhatsApp link |
| The form | A pre-filled paper Enumeration Form in two copies, or a self-download from voters.eci.gov.in | A link to a lookalike site, or an app to install |
| What is asked | Your details, mostly already pre-filled; you check, sign, and hand back one copy | Aadhaar number and photo, OTP, PAN, bank details, “processing fee” |
| OTP | Never asked over a phone call | Demanded, urgently, to “verify” your name |
| Cost | Free | A fee or payment to “protect” your registration |
| Pressure | A deadline exists, but no threatening calls; the draft roll is published for objections | ”Deleted today unless you act now” |
The Election Commission runs its own channels for anything you need to do yourself: the official portal voters.eci.gov.in, the ECINet app, and the voter helpline 1950. If a message did not come through one of these and it wants sensitive data, it is not the Commission.
5 red flags any voter can apply
Any single one of these is enough to stop. You do not need to wait for a second.
1. A link or app to “verify” your voter entry
The real form is paper from your BLO, or a download you start yourself from voters.eci.gov.in. The Commission does not text you a verification link. An unsolicited link asking for your data is the scam.
2. Anyone asks for your OTP
No BLO and no Election Commission official ever asks for an OTP over the phone. There is no step in SIR that needs you to read out an OTP to a caller. An OTP request is an account takeover in progress.
3. A threat that your name will be deleted today
Removal from the roll is a formal process with notices and a public draft-roll objection window. It does not happen because you ignored one phone call. The instant-deletion threat is the pressure tactic, not a real rule.
4. A “processing fee” or any payment
SIR is free. Nobody legitimate charges you to stay on the electoral roll or to submit an Enumeration Form. A payment request means fraud.
5. Asks for your Aadhaar number, Aadhaar photo, PAN, or bank details
Your BLO already has a largely pre-filled form. A caller or website collecting your full Aadhaar, PAN, or bank account in the name of voter verification is harvesting identity data to defraud you.
What to do if you got a call or a link
- Do not click, do not install, do not read out any OTP. Stop at the first red flag.
- Hang up or ignore the message. The urgency is manufactured. There is no cost to slowing down.
- Verify through a real channel. Call the voter helpline 1950, check your status on voters.eci.gov.in, or wait for your BLO’s in-person visit. Ask your BLO or local election office directly if you are unsure.
- Save the evidence. The sender number, a screenshot of the message or link, and the time of the call all help investigators.
- Call 1930. This is the national cybercrime helpline, operated 24/7 by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- File a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in within 24 hours. Fast reporting gives banks the best chance to freeze a mule account before the money is gone.
- If money already moved, call your bank now. Freeze the transaction, block the card, and report the fraud reference to your bank’s team.
- Tell the people around you. Parents, neighbours, your building group, elderly relatives. Most SIR-scam victims say afterward that they had heard “share nothing” but did not expect the voter-list angle.
Got a suspicious SIR message? Send it to us, we verify free
If a call, SMS, or link claiming to be about your voter roll feels off and you want a second opinion before doing anything, send it to us privately.
WhatsApp / Call: +91 99644 43350
Send the screenshot, the sender number, or the link text. We tell you whether it is a real Election Commission contact or a scam, and what to do next.
What we do:
- Check the link and sender against the real SIR and Election Commission channels
- Look for the scam tells (OTP demand, deletion threat, fee, unsolicited link or APK)
- Tell you whether it is real or fake, in plain language
What we do not do:
- Charge you for the check
- Ask for your Aadhaar, OTP, or bank details
- Pretend to be a government official
The check is free. Save the number now, because during a pressured call you will not have time to search for it.
We also publish related guides for the same audience that SIR scammers target: how to spot a digital arrest scam and the traffic challan SMS scam explainer. The pattern is the same every time: an official name, a deadline, a link or an OTP, and pressure to act before you think.
Save this now
If you get a call or message claiming your voter registration needs verification, an OTP, a fee, or an app install: do not share anything, and call 1930. For a private sanity check first, WhatsApp +91 99644 43350. Real voter verification happens with your BLO at your door and on voters.eci.gov.in, never through an OTP read out to a stranger.
Frequently asked questions
Will a real BLO ever ask for my OTP during SIR?
No. The Election Commission of India and Booth Level Officers never ask voters to share an OTP over a phone call or message. A real BLO visits your home in person, hands you a pre-filled Enumeration Form, and collects the signed copy back. Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar publicly confirmed in July 2026 that anyone asking for an OTP in the name of SIR verification is a fraudster. If someone demands an OTP to keep your name on the voter list, hang up and call 1930.
Is there a fee to stay on the electoral roll under SIR?
No. The Special Intensive Revision is free. Filling and submitting your Enumeration Form costs nothing. Any message or website asking for a processing fee, verification charge, or payment to prevent your name from being deleted is a scam. Officials in Rajasthan and Telangana have both stated that legitimate voter updates carry zero cost. Do not pay anyone claiming to protect your voter registration.
How do I know if an SIR verification link is fake?
A real SIR form comes from your BLO on paper, or you download it yourself from the official portal voters.eci.gov.in. The Election Commission does not send you enumeration links over random SMS or WhatsApp. Fake links redirect to lookalike websites that ask for your Aadhaar number, OTP, or bank details, or they push an APK app to install. If a link arrived unsolicited and asks for sensitive data, treat it as fraud and report it at cybercrime.gov.in.
Can my name really be deleted from the voter list if I ignore a call?
Not by a phone call. Removal from the electoral roll follows a formal process with your BLO, notices, and a window to respond, and the draft roll is published for objections before anything is final. Scammers weaponise the fear of deletion to rush you into sharing an OTP or clicking a link. The threat of instant deletion over a call is itself the biggest sign it is fake. Verify only through your BLO or the 1950 voter helpline.
What do I do if I already shared an OTP or Aadhaar with an SIR scammer?
Act fast. Call 1930, the national cybercrime helpline run by I4C under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in within 24 hours. If you shared a banking OTP, call your bank immediately to freeze the transaction and block the card. If you installed an app from a link, disconnect the internet, uninstall it, and consider a factory reset. Speed of reporting is the single biggest factor in freezing a mule account before the money moves.