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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed telecom operators to block more than 28,000 mobile handsets across the country due to their involvement in cybercrime. The department has also asked telcos to carry out reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these handsets.
“DoT, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and state police have joined hands for curbing the misuse of telecom resources in cyber-crime and financial frauds. This collaborative effort aims to dismantle networks of fraudsters and protect citizens from digital threats,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
“Analysis carried out by MHA and state police have revealed that 28,200 mobile handsets were misused in cybercrimes. The DoT further analysed and found that a staggering 20 lakh numbers were used with these mobile handsets. Subsequently, DoT issued directions to telecom service providers for pan India blocking of 28,200 mobile handsets and to carry out immediate reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets and disconnect failing re-verification,” the statement added.
In March, the Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw had released the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for coordination among various stakeholders – including the government, financial entities like banks and online platforms – to curb the misuse of telecom resources in cybercrime and financial frauds.
The platform also contains information regarding the cases detected as misuse of telecom resources. It can only be accessed by authorised stakeholders and not by the public.
In August last year, the department had mandated that dealers selling SIM cards register themselves with telecom operators in a bid to crack down on dealers engaged in issuing fraudulent SIM cards. The government has also discontinued the provision of issuing bulk connections, replacing it with a provision for businesses to obtain connections for their employees and other purposes after a thorough know-your-customer (KYC) process.
In case of any illegal activity, the dealership will be terminated and blacklisted for three years. The process of verification should be done within a year, the ministry had earlier said.
