New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a fresh circular directing telecom operators to use subscriber photographs to enforce the existing cap on the number of mobile connections an individual can hold, in a bid to curb SIM-based frauds, including “digital arrest” scams.
Under the instructions, dated August 17, telecom service providers (TSPs) have been directed to use photographs available on the government’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to identify subscribers who have already reached the maximum permissible limit of nine mobile connections and prevent them from acquiring additional SIM cards. The limit stands lower, at six connections, for subscribers in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North-East, as per subscriber verification guidelines issued in 2012.
As per the circular, “a representative image of the photo of each such subscriber who has already touched the prescribed limit for mobile connections in his name would be made available on DIP” from August 23. Operators have been told to “download all such images on a daily basis so that such subscribers could be prevented from crossing the prescribed limit.”
From August 24, operators must put in place systems, technical and organisational, to match new applicants against these images. If a subscriber who has already hit the cap attempts to obtain a fresh connection, the operator is required to inform him that he “already has maximum number of mobile connections permitted to an individual and accordingly, a new mobile connection cannot be provided to him.”
In the initial phase, verification will run on a post-facto, D+1 basis, meaning checks will be conducted a day after enrolment rather than in real time. Operators have been directed to fully integrate the photo-matching mechanism into their real-time subscriber enrolment and activation systems by November 30. Until then, “any mobile connection activated beyond the prescribed limit for a day shall be immediately suspended till resolution of the issue,” the circular states.
The DoT noted that the new mechanism was introduced “in order to address the difficulties being faced by” telecom operators “in identifying such subscriber who has either already obtained or seeking to obtain mobile connections beyond the prescribed limit,” adding that the guidelines were finalised following “extensive deliberations” with telecom operators. The respective Licensed Service Areas will act as the competent authority for resolving any implementation-related issues.
The move comes amid growing concern over the misuse of multiple SIM cards in cyber fraud and “digital arrest” scams, where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials to extort money from victims. Subscribers can verify the number of mobile connections registered in their name through the government’s Sanchar Saathi portal and report any unrecognised numbers for deactivation.