DoT takes action against cybercrime and blocks over 24,000 mobile connections

New Delhi: In a clear crackdown on Cybercrime and fraudulent activities in the digital world, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday blocked 24,228 mobile phone connections with immediate effect.

These 24,228 mobile connections were linked to 42 unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers and were suspected of repeated fraudulent activity. These 42 IMEI numbers were linked to three mobile numbers.

The DoT said that telecom service providers have been directed to block IMEI numbers across India.

The ministry’s crackdown came after complaints from “good Samaritans” who filed cyber fraud reports on the government portal Chaksu. Cyber ​​fraudsters reportedly misused these mobile phone numbers for cybercrime and other fraudulent activities.

Chakshu is an online service provided by the Department of Transport that allows citizens to report suspected fraudulent messages. Users can submit their complaints about identity fraud or any misuse of services through phone call, SMS or WhatsApp on the portal sancharsaathi.gov.in.

The service, launched in March, triggers re-verification of suspected fraudulent numbers. If the re-verification of the numbers fails, the connection is disconnected.

IMEI number is a unique 15-digit serial number used to identify specific mobile phones. Each phone has a unique IMEI number. Recently, linking IMEI to hundreds of numbers has become a worrying trend.