Centre Introduces Reforms for Mobile User Protection

New Delhi: In order to strengthen the Government of India’s commitment to building a digitally inclusive society, while also prioritizing security and customer protection, the Centre has introduced two reforms focused on digital transformation and enhancing customer protection. These initiatives aim to promote the safe and efficient utilization of Telecom resources, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding mobile users.

Two reforms are KYC Reforms and Point of Sale (POS) registration.

These two reforms align with previous measures implemented through the launch of Sanchar Saathi, an interactive platform that has empowered India’s efforts in combating cybercrimes and financial frauds.

1. Point-of-Sale (POS) Registration Reforms:
   • This reform introduces the process for mandatory registration of franchisees, Agents and Distributors (PoS) by Licensees.
   • This will help in eliminating the rogue PoS who by fraudulent practices issue SIMs to anti-social/anti-national elements.
   • The PoS registration process includes indisputable verification of PoS by the Licensee.
   • The process mandates written agreement between the PoS and the Licensees.
   • If a PoS indulges in any illegal activities, it will be terminated and blacklisted for a period of 03 years.
   • All the existing PoS will be registered as per this process by Licensees within 12 months.
   • This will help in identifying, blacklisting and eliminating rogue PoS, from the licensees’ system and provide encouragement to the upright PoS.
2. KYC Reforms:
   • KYC is a process to uniquely identify a customer and enable his traceability before providing him with telecom services.
   • Strengthening the existing KYC process is one of the tools in protecting the subscribers of telecom services from any probable fraud and thereby enhancing the confidence of the public in the digital ecosystem.
   • To prevent misuse of printed Aadhaar, the demographic details will mandatorily be captured by scanning the QR code of the printed Aadhaar.
   • In case of disconnection of a mobile number, it will not be allocated to any other new customer till the expiry of 90 days.
   • A subscriber has to undertake complete KYC for the replacement of his SIM and there will be a bar of 24 hours on outgoing & incoming SMS facilities.
   • In addition to thumb impression and iris-based authentication in the Aadhaar E-KYC process, facial-based biometric authentication is also permitted.
   • Introduction of business connections for issuing mobile connections to entities (for ex. company, organizations, trusts, society, etc). Entities can take any number of mobile connections subject to the complete KYC of all of its end-users. SIM will be activated only after successful KYC of end users and physical verification of the premise/address of the entity.

The Department of Telecommunications, in its pursuit of safeguarding the interests of the citizens, has implemented transformative reforms that signify a resolute commitment. Through rigorous and comprehensive measures, the department aims to strengthen customer security and enhance protection against the growing menace of telecom frauds. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and vigilant oversight, the Department is steadfast in its mission to foster the highest level of safety and trust within the telecommunications landscape. This ensures a secure and dependable communication environment for all.

All you need to know about Sanchar Sathi- A Citizen-Centric portal of Mobile User Protection

1. ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal was launched on World Telecommunication Day (17 May 2023) for the protection of mobile users.
2. ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal empowers mobile subscribers to:
   • Find out mobile connections registered in their name,
   • Report connections registered fraudulently in their name, if any, and
   • Report stolen/ lost mobile handsets & block them.
3. With the help of the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal and ASTR tool, around 114 Crore active mobile connections have been analyzed. The outcome is:
   • More than 66 lakhs suspected mobile connections were detected.
   • Failing re-verification more than 52 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected.
   • More than 67000 Points of Sale (PoS) have been blacklisted.
   • About 17000 mobile handsets have been blocked
   • More than 300 FIRs have been registered against more than 1,700 Points of Sale (PoS) f. More than 66000 WhatsApp accounts have been blocked.
   • About 8 lakh bank/wallet accounts used by fraudsters have been frozen
4. Out of about 18 lakh subscribers’ complaints about fraudulently registered mobile connections in their name, 9.26 lakh complaints have been resolved.
5. Out of 7.5 lakhs complaints about stolen/ lost mobile handsets, 3 lakh mobile handsets have been traced.
6. Since January 2022, 114 illegal Telecom setups have been unearthed, and action taken by authorities.