DoT suspends 24,229 fraud mobile connections linked to three numbers

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday said it has disconnected as many as 24,228 mobile connections and 42 unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) suspected of repeated fraudulent activity, which were connected to just 3 mobile numbers.

The action was taken based on complaints made by the general public on the government's Chaksu portal. The portal allows citizens to report mobile numbers suspected of fraudulent communication received on call, short messaging service (SMS), or social media like WhatsApp. Launched in March, it triggers re-verification of suspected fraudulent numbers. Failing re-verification, the number will be disconnected.

Many of the mobile numbers found in the latest reported cache of connections showed suspected activity and have been disconnected in one go, officials said.

The IMEI number is a unique 15-digit serial number for identifying a device; every mobile phone in the world has one. DoT officials said they have been witnessing a worrying trend of thousands of numbers being linked to a handful of devices. One of the 42 IMEIs was found to be used with 4,146 mobile numbers.

The DoT said telecom service providers have been directed to block the IMEI on a pan-India basis.

Checking the rising tide of spam calls and text messages through multiple interventions is part of the department's 100-day agenda.