DoT busts illegal use of telecom resources in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad unit of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday said that an agent was involved in fraudulent sale of 500 VIL SIMs at one of the Vodafone Idea’s Point of Sale (PoS).
The authenticity of documents submitted for SIM procurement, is currently under verification. These SIMs were being supplied to unregistered and illegal telemarketers and it was found that SIM boxes were being used to send bulk SMSs, according to a statement issued by DoT.
An FIR has been filed against the suspected customers and the POS agent. Additionally, two 512-slot SIM boxes and 130 SIMs were seized. The POS agent is currently absconding, and further investigation is underway to trace the source of these SIMs, the statement said, adding that the operation was carried out with the active support of Telangana police.
Under the leadership of Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, the DoT is proactively working to curb the cyber frauds and digital scam. In line with the vision of the Minister, the Intelligence Unit (DIU) is being strengthened in DoT headquarters and in field units. The DoT team at Hyderabad is further analyzing the data to identify illegal and fraudulent usage of telecom resources to mitigate the digital frauds.
Two SIM boxes were recovered in a joint operation of the Department of Telecom with Telangana police. SIM boxes are normally used by fraudsters for illegal activities like social engineering, financial frauds and unsolicited commercial communication (UCC). This causes revenue loss to the nation and causes hardship to innocent subscribers. Anti-national elements also sometimes use these illegal methods.