Haryana Police blocks over 20,000 mobile numbers issued on fake documents

The Haryana Police has blocked 20,545 mobile numbers issued on fake and forged documents, officials said on Thursday.

Most of the blocked SIM cards were issued in Andhra Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Delhi, among others, a police spokesperson said.

A total of 34,000 mobile numbers involved in cyber fraud operating across the state including 40 hotspot villages of Nuh district had been identified and reported on the designated portal.

"The remaining about 14,000 mobile numbers involved in cyber frauds will also be blocked soon through the Department of Telecom, government of India," he said in an official statement.

He said the State Crime Branch is currently monitoring all mobile numbers involved in cybercrime and is taking reports from the districts in this regard on a daily basis.

Recently, 102 teams consisting of 5,000 personnel of Haryana Police raided 14 cybercrime hotspots villages in Nuh district.

"The maximum number of mobile numbers involved in cybercrimes have been issued from Andhra Pradesh and they are being operated in the state to commit cybercrimes," he said.

"Currently, of the total identified mobile numbers issued on fake IDs, 12,822 are from Andhra Pradesh, 4,365 from West Bengal, 4,338 from Delhi, 2,322 from Assam, and 2,490 from Haryana," he added.

About the numbers which are currently operating from different areas of Haryana, the same has been intimated to the Department of Telecom to block them, he said.

Haryana Police Crime Branch Chief and Additional Director General of Police, O P Singh, said the state crime branch, as the state nodal agency for cybercrime, has a team of 40 highly-skilled cyber police personnel who have been deployed at 'Helpline 1930' to promptly register reported incidents and collect relevant data.

The complaints of cyber fraud are immediately updated on the portal to block suspicious mobile numbers. The ill motives of cyber thugs are being thwarted by blocking these SIMs purchased on fake and forged documents, he said.

Haryana State Cyber Coordination Centre has been established in the State Crime Branch as per the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent cyber fraud.

Hamid Akhtar, an IPS officer currently serving as DIG in the state crime branch, has been appointed as the nodal officer of this coordination centre, he said.

The spokesperson said instructions have been given to the superintendents of police of all the districts to inform the cyber nodal organisation according to the proforma of the mobile numbers involved in cybercrimes in the district so that all those numbers can be uploaded on the cybercrime portal.

As soon as the mobile number is uploaded on the portal, the DoT blocks or deactivates that number.