The department of telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom operators to reverify nearly 680,000 mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, fake or forged proof of identity and proof of address documents.
The telecom department has given a 60-day time to telecom operators to reverify the suspected mobile numbers. “Failure to complete re-verification will result in the disconnection of the concerned mobile numbers,” DoT said in a release on Thursday.
The action by DoT assumes significance amid the menace of increase in financial frauds over phones. The department has been using AI-driven analysis to identify such suspected numbers.
The collaboration between various sectors and the utilisation of AI technology have been pivotal in identifying these fraudulent connections, demonstrating the effectiveness of integrated digital platforms in combating identity fraud, DoT said.
Last week, DoT said it disconnected over 17 million fraudulent mobile connections so far and blocked near 0.19 million handsets involved in cyber crime.
The same was done on the basis of complaints DoT received on the Sanchar Saathi portal and inputs received from key stakeholders such as the ministry of home affairs, banks, etc. According to data shared by DoT, it has analysed 1.34 billion mobile connections till date based on the complaints.
The government has also launched the Chakshu portal to report the suspected or unsolicited communications received through call, SMS or WhatsApp. Till date, DoT has received 28,412 complaints and flagged 10,834 connections for reverification as well as disconnected 8,272 connections for failing re-verification, as per the data.
