The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued orders to block 28,200 mobile handsets and re-verify 20 lakh mobile connections. In fact, cybercrime and online scams have increased so much that the government is making every effort to stop this illegal activity. This is why SIM card verification and blocking of mobile handsets used in this work has been ordered. DoT has asked all telecom operators to implement this order by May 31. According to the agency, these SIM cards were being used in online scams through fake calls and SMS. Also, frauds worth crores of rupees have also been committed with the help of these SIM cards.
How will the number be verified?
To verify these millions of mobile connections, users will have to re-verify identity and address, DoT said. And this verification process will start from 1st June till 31st June. At this time every user will be able to verify the number by visiting the respective telecom operator's office.
With this move, the government wants to reduce illegal activities like cyber crime and online scam. And according to cyber security experts, taking this step will reduce the number of such frauds in the future.
It may be noted that earlier DoT blocked thousands of handsets for online scams, which were used to commit cyber crimes. And these blocks are not temporary blocks, because once blocked, the handset cannot be used by inserting another SIM in the future.
