The number of smartphones is increasing day by day. As the number of smartphones increases, so does the number of registered SIMs. There are many users who have more than two SIM cards. The SIM cards we buy knowingly can have two, three, four or even more.
But apart from this what if someone else has taken SIM using our ID. It will lead us to great danger. There are many cases of obtaining fake SIM cards using leaked documents and engaging in illegal activities.
But to avoid such pitfalls and find out how many SIMs are registered with our Aadhaar card, there is a nifty tool on the Sanchar Sathi portal of the Government of India. It is very easy to check the SIM information in our name.
How to know SIM card information registered in our name: To find out how many SIMs are registered with our ID, open your preferred internet browser and search for ‘Tafcop portal‘. There you can find an option to the ‘Sanchar Sathi‘ portal.
Then on the page that appears, we will be asked to type our mobile number and enter a captcha. After entering this click on ‘Validate Captcha’ and an OTP will be generated. Enter it in the OTP field and tap on the ‘Login’ button.
Then on the web page that will be available, we can see the mobile numbers active in our name. If you find a suspicious looking number among these, you can report it by clicking on the tick box on the left, select the ‘Not My Number’ option and click on the ‘Report’ button below to continue.
This will inform the Department of Telecommunications that the number is not yours. Then the government may stop the services for that particular number. If you no longer need a particular connection, you can select the ‘Not required’ option. You can select the ‘Required’ option and click on the ‘Report’ button to confirm the number you are using.
The government is taking strong measures to stop fake SIM cards. As part of that, some strict standards were recently announced for the sale of SIM cards in the country. As part of this, the government has made police verification mandatory for all SIM card dealers in the country.
It is the responsibility of telecom companies to ensure police verification for registration for sale of SIM. Dealers who violate the norms will be fined Rs 10 lakh. The new rules will prevent bulk issuance of SIM cards. Individuals can acquire SIM cards in bulk only through a business connection.
However, users can get up to 9 SIM cards in one ID as before. Apart from this, Aadhaar scanning and demographic data collection will be made mandatory for customers purchasing SIM cards for existing numbers. After deactivating a SIM card, the number can be assigned to someone else only after a period of 90 days.
The central government has introduced new restrictions on the purchase and sale of SIMs with the aim of curbing cyber crimes in the country. The Sanchar Sathi portal is also part of the drive against fake SIM cards. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that since its launch, the government has verified 52 lakh mobile numbers obtained through fake documents.
