Govt Announces Reforms to Combat SIM Card Fraud, No Bulk Purchases Allowed, Dealers Must Undergo Police Verification
In a major move to curb cyber fraud, the government today announced that it will stop buying SIM cards in bulk and made police checks mandatory for every SIM card seller.
Union Communications Minister and Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press conference on Thursday, “Three customer-centric reforms [Central Equipment Identity Register, Know Your Mobile and ASTR] were launched on World Telecom Day in May. Now, in addition to that, we have decided to introduce two more reforms. These focus purely to protect users and reduce cyber fraud cases,” the minister said.
Vaishnaw stated that since May, the government had detected and deactivated a staggering 52 lakh connections that had been obtained fraudulently. This achievement was due to the introduction of ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal which has proved useful in identifying and neutralizing fraudulent links.
As part of the crackdown, a staggering 67,000 dealers involved in facilitating these illegal connections have been blacklisted and around 300 FIRs have been lodged against those who facilitate online fraud.
The minister emphasized that the soon-to-be-enforced new directives require strict police verification and a biometric authentication process for new SIM card retailers.
In addition, the practice of buying SIM cards in bulk has been completely stopped in order to stop the fraudulent activity. Instead, a careful provision on business connections will be introduced, allowing bona fide companies to acquire connections subject to strict inspection and registration practices.
To ensure compliance with the new measures, violators of these rules would have to pay a whopping Rs 10,000. The minister confirmed the government’s commitment to maintain the integrity of telecommunications networks and protect people from cybercrimes.
The minister pointed out that 17,000 illegally acquired phones were rendered unusable, neutralizing their potential for criminal use. Additionally, a staggering 66,000 WhatsApp accounts linked to online fraud were blocked. Vaishnaw noted that in the case of WhatsApp, the company was working with the government to resolve the issues involved.
In addition, nearly 8,00,000 payment account wallets related to illegal payment transactions were blocked, dealing a major blow to the financial background of criminal activities.
According to Vaishnaw, the Ministry of Communications hopes to see changes in the current cyber fraud scenario in 7-8 months, when the new measures are implemented across the country.
