DoT disconnects 30,000 SIM cards obtained using forged documents

Mumbai police and the Department of Telecom have identified and disconnected around 30,000 SIM cards used for cyber frauds in the city. Executives of telecom service providers were found to have issued SIM cards in unknown persons' names without their knowledge with an intention to earn more commission. The accused used forged identity documents with their own photographs or those of others to issue the SIM cards. The Department of Telecom used ASTR-AI and facial recognition-powered solutions to identify the SIMs obtained on fake or forged documents.

Strap: Mumbai police say cards used for cybercrimes, financial frauds and anti-national, anti-social activities

HT Image

MUMBAI: After a joint operation with the Mumbai police, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has recently identified and disconnected around 30,000 SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards obtained from the city using forged documents and which, according to the police, were being used by cyber frauds to con people.

The investigation by the Mumbai police has revealed that the executives of telecom service providers have issued SIM cards in the names of unknown persons — without their knowledge — with an intention to earn more commission.

The Mumbai Police have registered six FIRs in connection with the issuance of the SIMs based on forged documents and arrested a total of 13 people – mostly working in mobile shops as representatives of the service providers.

DoT has for the first time used indigenous, super-computer based next generation platform -- ASTR-AI and facial recognition powered solutions for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification and found that there was connivance at the “point of sale - shopkeeper level in issuance of the SIM cards based on forged documents, primarily used in commission of cyber frauds.

“The accused used to take documents of individuals like Aadhar cards and affix their own photographs or those of other individuals on the forms, change the photo on the Aadhaar card image and issue SIM cards based on the forged identity documents,” said Satyanarayan Chaudhary, Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order.

“One Abdul Hakim Mansuri, who works with a telecom service provider (TSP) store in Malabar Hill had issued 684 SIM cards in his own name. Around 8,247 SIM cards were found to be having photos of the same 62 people,” he added.

Chaudhary said the accused used to take their own photos in different poses and after changing their looks – by changing combinations like with moustaches and without moustaches, with beard, without beard or French beard, with long hair or short hair, so as to look different and ensure that they are not easily identified.

“When a customer used to visit a store with his Aadhaar card, they used to keep his document copy. Later, they would apply for a new SIM card after creating a new document by forging the customer’s document, but with their own photographs and later verify the SIM via a photo and video call and get the SIM card activated,” said Abhinav Deshmukh, additional commissioner of police, South Region.

“The cards were then ‘sold’ to frauds or simply kept with them as they could get commission from the company for achieving targets.”

A DoT officer said, “Chances that such SIM cards obtained on fake or forged documents could be used for commission of Cyber frauds, financial frauds and anti-national, anti-social activities etc. are very high. Such is the expertise level of the frauds that they have created fake proof of identities/addresses, which can never be detected by human beings by analyzing cases in isolation.

“Hence, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had taken up the challenge to prevent cybercrimes by using ASTR – the Next Generation platform for detecting and weeding out SIMs obtained on fake / forged documents,” said the officer.

“The system compares subscriber photos and subscriber database provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and the output is generated in groups of similar photos of subscribers with different names. The system has been designed and put to use by DoT with a vision to analyse, identify and weed out fake/forged, non-bona fide mobile connections for curbing the menace of Cyber Crimes,” added the DoT officer.

DoT Mumbai analysed all the connections given in the mega city and found around 30,000 non-bona fide mobile connections, all of which are now disconnected by service providers.

An officer of the Mumbai Police said, “We have registered cases at Malabar Hill police station, VP Marg police station, DB Marg Police station, DN Nagar Police station, Sahar Police station and Bangur Nagar Police station and arrested 13 people in these cases.

“The accused were booked for using as genuine a forged [document or electronic record], forgery for the purpose of cheating, forgery of valuable security, punishment for forgery and punishment for criminal breach of trust,” said a police officer.

“We have found that such SIM cards taken with the help of forged documents were even used in by a fake call centre. Several of them are now disconnected,” said the police officer who did not wish to be named.

The police said the bank accounts and SIM cards are important tools that Cyber frauds require for commission of crimes, as tracing the registered owners of the SIM cards becomes a difficult task for the police, even if the frauds are reported to the police and police track down the SIM cards and details of the bank accounts used for commission of the crimes.

“Several gangs supply activated SIM cards and bank accounts with enabled debit cards to cyber fraud gangs for money and several such gangs have been busted by us in the past, despite that they are still active, as they get good money – ranging from ₹500 to ₹2,000 per SIM card,” said a Cyber police officer.

The Cyber police officer said that apart from getting SIM cards from staffers of service providers or mobile shops, they even rent premises like commercial shops or properties and using the said address make various documents which are then used to obtain SIM cards. This assumes importance, when Mumbai has seen 63.7% rise in Cybercrimes in 2022 as compared to 2021 when 2,883 Cybercrimes were reported in the city. The number went up to 4,718 last year.