9,606 SIM Cards Blocked in Kerala Following Government Crackdown on Counterfeit Ones
In an Artificial Intelligence-based operation against fake SIM cards initiated by the Centre over the past two years, a total of 9,606 SIM cards sold in Kerala have been blocked. According to the Telecom department’s estimates, the nationwide crackdown has resulted in the blocking of 36.61 lakh SIM cards since 2022, which were found to be linked to cyber fraud.
The operation targeted individuals who had obtained multiple SIM cards using false information and documents, utilizing the AI-powered system known as ASTR. To verify authenticity, approximately 87 crore SIM cards underwent scrutiny through this software.
Out of the 11,462 SIM cards flagged for suspicious activities, 9,606 were blocked in Kerala. The ASTR system examined a total of 3.56 crore SIM cards from the state. Additionally, seven points of sale involved in the distribution of fake SIM cards have been blacklisted.
Compared to other states, Kerala has relatively fewer fake SIM cards. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav revealed that during the operation, it was discovered that an individual had acquired 6,800 SIM cards under different names using fake details. Another fraudster had obtained 5,300 SIM cards.
Naveen Jakhar, Additional Director General of the Telecom department and one of the key architects of the ASTR system, explained that its purpose is to detect and prevent the usage of fake SIM cards for online frauds.
The states with the highest number of fake SIM cards are as follows:
1. West Bengal – 12.34 lakh
2. Haryana – 5.24 lakh
3. Bihar-Jharkhand – 3.27 lakh
4. Madhya Pradesh – 2.28 lakh
5. Uttar Pradesh – 2.04 lakh
6. Gujarat – 1.29 lakh
ASTR, the system used in the crackdown, verifies customer-provided photographs submitted to telecom companies for SIM card purchases. Using AI technology, the system compares the photos and groups together those that exhibit a similarity of at least 97.5%. In just ten seconds, ASTR can identify similar faces among one crore photographs. Following identification, the system cross-checks the KYC details to identify any discrepancies. If inconsistencies are found, the SIM cards are canceled after scrutiny.
WhatsApp has expressed its commitment to removing chat accounts associated with such numbers.
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