New Delhi. The government has now geared up to curb cyber crime and online fraud in the country. To prevent the use of mobile SIM in online fraud, telecom operators can disconnect about 18 lakh mobile connections across the country.
The involvement of these mobile numbers has come to light in the investigation of cyber crime and financial fraud cases by various law enforcement agencies. In view of this, the Department of Telecommunications has asked telecom companies to disconnect 28,220 handsets and verify more than 20 lakh mobile connections.
Investigating agencies have found out that several thousand mobile SIMs have been used on the same mobile handset. Instead of using SIM cards of their own telecom circle, fraudsters generally use SIM cards of other telecom circles so as to avoid the attention of telecom companies and agencies. Apart from this, they do not use one SIM in the same mobile for long. To protect themselves, fraudsters make only a few outgoing calls and then change the SIM.
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Only 10 percent of SIMs get verified
According to an Economic Times report, an official said that generally in cases of suspicious SIMs, only 10 percent of the connections get verified and the rest are disconnected. When telecom companies re-verify within 15 days and the SIM is not verified, the connection is disconnected. The Department of Telecommunications fears that most of the 20 lakh SIMs which have been ordered to be verified will be used for wrong purposes and the person using them will not get them verified.
Telecom companies had blocked around 200,000 SIMs last year for alleged involvement in cyber crimes. In Mewat, Haryana itself, the government had closed more than 37,000 SIM cards simultaneously after a thorough investigation. The government believes that telecom companies need to be more proactive in detecting usage patterns of SIMs, especially those purchased outside the domestic circle.
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Cyber crimes are increasing.
The number of mobile phone based cyber crimes is continuously increasing in the country. According to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), victims of digital financial fraud lost ₹10,319 crore in 2023. According to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, more than 694,000 complaints were received in 2023.
