As many as 73 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected by telecom operators for being obtained on fake proof of identity or address, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) told Parliament on Wednesday.
The department has developed a system to detect fraudulent mobile connections taken on fake proof of identity or proof of address documents, and such connections are flagged to the telecom service providers (TSPs) for reverification. To date, DoT has identified about 81 lakh such suspected mobile connections, the details of which have been forwarded to TSPs for reverification, the DoT said.
Meanwhile, the DoT also investigated about 1.92 crore mobile connections held by about 16 lakh subscribers exceeding the prescribed limit of mobile connections that an individual can hold. “About 66 lakh such mobile connections have been disconnected by the TSPs, thereby bringing the mobile connections within the prescribed limit for these 16 lakh subscribers,” the DoT said.
A citizen domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and the North East licence service area can own up to 6 SIM cards across all the TSPs on a pan-India basis. Those in the rest of India can own up to 9 SIMs.
Officials said the complaints were received on the ‘Chakshu’ platform, which enables citizens to report suspected fraudulent communication from mobile numbers via calls, SMS, or social media like WhatsApp.
Integrated with the DoT’s Sanchar Sathi portal, Chakshu will trigger the reverification and potential blocking of suspected fraudulent numbers. The DoT has indicated that the username and details of suspected numbers and those reporting will remain confidential and will never be shared with anyone.
The government has been cracking down on mobile-based frauds and violations of connection rules throughout this year. In June, the DoT blocked 392 mobile handsets misused in cybercrime, financial frauds related to electricity Know Your Customer (KYC) updates. Reverifications of 31,740 mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets were also underway.
Earlier in May, the DoT directed telecom operators for pan-India blocking of 28,200 mobile handsets that were misused in cybercrimes. Orders for immediate reverification of a massive cache of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets were issued.
First Published: Aug 07 2024 | 6:58 PM IST
