Crackdown! Why telecom operators may block 1.8 million SIM cards soon

Crackdown on Cyber thieves: To combat cybercrime and online fraud, telecom operators are set to terminate approximately 1.8 million mobile connections simultaneously. This action is part of the government's nationwide initiative to curb these illegal activities, officials said.
According to an ET report by Kiran Rathee, the decision follows an extensive investigation conducted by various law enforcement agencies to identify the misuse of mobile connections for perpetrating cybercrime and financial fraud.
An official familiar with the details was quoted as saying, "During investigations, it was detected that in many instances, a single handset was used with thousands of mobile connections."
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had instructed telecom companies on May 9 to disconnect 28,220 mobile handsets and re-verify more than two million mobile connections associated with these devices.

The official explained, "Typically, we have found that in such instances, only 10% of the connections get verified and the rest get disconnected, failing re-verification." The disconnection process will be carried out once the telecom companies complete the re-verification within a 15-day period.
This development occurs amidst a consistent increase in mobile phone-based cybercrimes throughout the country. According to the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), victims of digital financial fraud suffered losses amounting to Rs 10,319 crore in 2023.
Furthermore, a report by the parliamentary standing committee on finance revealed that more than 694,000 complaints were received in 2023.
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Cybercriminals often employ a tactic of using SIM cards from various telecom circles and frequently switching between different SIM and handset combinations to evade detection by law enforcement and telecom companies, according to officials.
"For instance, an Odisha or Assam circle SIM could be used in Delhi NCR," a second official said. "To avoid the radar, fraudsters make only a few outgoing calls and then change the SIM as too many outgoing calls from the same number would get detected by telco systems."
In a previous investigation, telecom companies disconnected approximately 200,000 SIM cards last year due to suspected involvement in cybercrime. Additionally, the government conducted investigations in regions such as Mewat, Haryana, resulting in the disconnection of over 37,000 SIM cards.
The government believes that telecom companies should take a more proactive approach in identifying usage patterns of SIM cards, especially those purchased outside their home circles, to effectively combat cybercrime.
"As part of their roaming detection system, telcos can instantly capture when a person moves out to a different circle," the second official said.
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Moreover, telecom companies are generally capable of detecting when thousands of SIM cards are used with a single handset. "If telcos take proactive measures at their end, it can be helpful in combating online fraud," the official added.
Under the unified licence, telecom carriers are required to implement a fraud management and prevention system within their networks and report any suspicious subscribers. This includes analyzing call detail records for outgoing calls made by customers, particularly in cases where subscribers make numerous outgoing calls throughout the day and night to various telephone numbers.