The Government of India allows an individual to own up to 9 SIMs in their name. (File photo)
The rapid increase in the number of smartphone users in India has also increased the sale of SIM cards by manifolds. Today, most users own more than two SIM cards and this has also increased the instances of SIM card-related scams and frauds.
If you want to check how many SIM cards are registered under your name, the Government of India’s Sanchar Saathi portal has a nifty tool that lets you check the number of SIM cards linked to your Aadhaar.
How to see the number of SIM cards issued under my name?
1. To find out how many SIMs you have, open the internet browser of your choice and search for ‘Tafcop portal’. You can also find the option by heading over to the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal.
2. On the page that appears, you will be asked to type your mobile number and enter a captcha.
3. Once done, click on the ‘Validate Captcha’ and you will receive an OTP. Enter it in the OTP field and tap on the ‘Login’ button.
You can report unauthorized SIMs purchased under your name from the portal. (Express Photo)
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What do I do with this information?
On the webpage, you can see the mobile numbers that are active under your name. If you find a number that looks suspicious, you can report it by clicking on the tick box to the left, choose the ‘Not My Number’ option and proceed to click on the ‘Report’ button below.
Doing so will notify the Department of Telecommunication that the number is not yours, following which the government might stop services for that particular number.
In case you no longer require a particular connection, choosing the ‘Not required’ option will do the trick. You can also choose the ‘Required’ option and hit on the ‘Report’ button to tell the government that you are actively using the mobile numbers.
What is the government doing to decrease SIM fraud?
The Government of India allows people to buy up to 9 SIM cards under a single name.
Earlier this year, Punjab Police said they blocked more than 1.8 lakh SIM cards that were allegedly purchased using fake identities including 500 SIM cards that were issued on a single photo under various names and addresses. Probe agencies also unearthed a nexus where dealers sold 67,000 SIMs without document verification.
Currently, telecom providers don’t need to maintain a detailed list of dealers selling SIM cards, which might be the reason why India has witnessed a surge in the number of cases surrounding SIM cards registered under fake identities.
To crack down on the issue, the Department of Telecom (DoT) discontinued the bulk sale of mobile connections and said dealers needed to register with telecom operators within a year if they wanted to continue selling SIMs.
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Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that since the launch of the Sanchar Saathi portal, the Government of India has cracked on 52 lakh mobile numbers that were obtained using forged documents.
