Department of Telecommunication advises against fraudulent sale of SIM cards
Chandigarh, May 12: The Department of Telecommunication in India has warned Point of Sales (POSs) against fraudulent activity involving the sale of SIM cards.
This comes after it was discovered that 1.8 lakh SIM cards were obtained using forged documents through the ASTR platform. The Department has emphasized that such activities pose a threat to national security as cyber fraudsters could use such SIM cards to carry out illegal activities.
The Department of Telecommunication has developed an AI and Facial Recognition-powered solution, ASTR, to detect and eliminate forged SIM cards. The ASTR project aims to analyze the subscriber base of all telecom service providers to cleanse the mobile subscriber database by identifying non-bonafide mobile numbers. The system uses subscriber images and databases provided by telecom subscriber providers to generate output in two categories.
Also Read: CBSE Class 12 results 2023 out: Girls outshine boys by 6.01 pc ; How and where to check results
In one category, one face has been used to subscribe to more than nine SIMs under the individual category without any change in name. In the other category, one face has been used with multiple names. DOT Punjab LSA has analyzed the ASTR results and found that 14,282 groups used one face with multiple names, and a total of 151,545 subscribers were associated with these groups. Only 7,542 POSs were involved in selling 192,075 fraudulent SIM cards.
The Department has blacklisted all fraudulent POSs and disconnected 188,460 fraudulent SIMs. Police complaints have been filed against fraudulent POSs and subscribers who used fake IDs to obtain SIM cards.
As of now, 1,693 POSs have been blacklisted by TSPs, and 69 complaints have been filed against 1,248 fraudulent POSs in all districts of Punjab, UT Chandigarh, and Panchkula city.
Also Read: CBSE Class 12 results 2023: Students of Chandigarh’s Institute for the Blind shine bright
- With inputs from agencies
