Telecom department directs telcos to block 28,200 mobile phones used in cybercrimes | Business News

“Analysis carried out by MHA and state police have revealed that 28,200 mobile handsets were misused in cybercrimes. The DoT further analysed and found that a staggering 20 lakh numbers were used with these mobile handsets. Subsequently, DoT issued directions to telecom service providers for pan India blocking of 28,200 mobile handsets and to carry out immediate reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets and disconnect failing re-verification,” the statement added.

In March, the Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw had released the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for coordination among various stakeholders – including the government, financial entities like banks and online platforms – to curb the misuse of telecom resources in cybercrime and financial frauds.

The platform also contains information regarding the cases detected as misuse of telecom resources. It can only be accessed by authorised stakeholders and not by the public.

In August last year, the department had mandated that dealers selling SIM cards register themselves with telecom operators in a bid to crack down on dealers engaged in issuing fraudulent SIM cards. The government has also discontinued the provision of issuing bulk connections, replacing it with a provision for businesses to obtain connections for their employees and other purposes after a thorough know-your-customer (KYC) process.

In case of any illegal activity, the dealership will be terminated and blacklisted for three years. The process of verification should be done within a year, the ministry had earlier said.