Kolkata and Mumbai top in fake mobile SIM cases: Report

The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of India's Department of Telecommunications has conducted an AI-based study that reveals Kolkata and Mumbai to be the top two cities with the most fake mobile SIM usage.

The study also found West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat to be the top three states in the country in this regard. The study discovered more than 6.8 lakh fake SIMs in the Bengal Circle (Kolkata & Sikkim & Andaman & Nicobar Islands) alone, with Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat following with 3,37,084 and 2,93,239 fake SIMs respectively.

According to sources in the Department of Telecommunications, the fraudulent SIM numbers are mostly used for cybercrime, criminal calls, and extortion. With the help of Telecom Analytics of Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (Tafcop), officials have verified all-India customer data to find correlations between faces and profiles of customers and identify 'identical' SIM card holders.

After Tafcop, the Department of Telecom used a high-end pixel-grade facial recognition software called ASTR to detect multiple SIMs taken with morphed photos of the same person but with different names and addresses.

In West Bengal, the districts of Murshidabad, East Midnapore, and North Dinajpur have been found to have the highest number of POS (Point of Sale) operators selling fake SIMs. Complaints have been lodged against 3,377 POS by their respective telecom operators in Kolkata circle alone, while the number of POS booked in Bengal circle is 10,915.

Arup Das, Director of the West Bengal Licensed Service Area of the Indian Department of Telecommunications, said that 6,70,992 SIMs have been deactivated in the Bengal circle, and 1,58,920 SIMs have been notified for re-verification in the Kolkata circle. The study emphasizes that using fake SIMs for criminal activities is a severe concern and that proper measures must be taken to tackle this issue.