DoT Disconnects 1.77 Crore Mobile Connections On Fake Documents, Blocks Over 49,000 Phones Used By Cybercriminals

Mumbai: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken stern measures to curb the instances of mobile connections taken on fake/forged documents, disconnected mobile connections and blocked mobile handsets used by cyber criminals and also got the accounts frozen by the banks and payments wallets which were linked to disconnected mobile connections taken on fake/forged documents.

"The DoT has this year so far disconnected 1.77 crore mobile connections taken on fake/forged documents. It has also disconnected 33.48 lakh mobile connections and blocked 49,930 mobile handsets used by cyber criminals in the country. Apart from this, 77.61 lakh mobile connections exceeding the prescribed limits for an individual have been disconnected," said an official.

The department has also pan-India blocking of 2.29 lakh mobile phones involved in cyber-crime or fraudulent activities. "The DoT has also disconnected about 20,000 entities, 32,000 SMS headers and two lakh SMS templates involved in sending malicious SMSes. About 11 lakhs accounts have been frozen by the banks and payments wallets which were linked to disconnected mobile connections taken on fake/forged documents and 365 FIRs have been registered in multiple States and union territories against those involved in these illegal activities," the official said.

The DoT has an online secure Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for sharing of information related to misuse of telecom resources among the stakeholders for prevention of cyber-crime and financial frauds.

"At present DoT field units, all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), 460 banks and financial institutions, police departments, central agencies and other stakeholders have on-boarded this platform. This platform hosts the list of disconnected mobile connections on a near real time basis along with the reasons for disconnections enabling the stakeholders to take appropriate action including to disengage the associated services linked with these mobile numbers," said the official.