SIM card KYC verification to go digital soon to tackle fake IDs

The know-your-customer (KYC) verification is going to have a massive overhaul. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to implement significant changes in the KYC norms, a national media reported, quoting people aware of the matter. 

The planned changes include a reduction in the number of SIM cards issued on a single ID from nine to five, digital verification of documents for issuance of SIM cards, penalties and punishment for misuse of SIM cards, and submission of fake documents, among others. 

The Artificial Intelligence and Digital Intelligence Unit (AI & DIU) of the DoT will notify the new KYC norms within six months after consulting a national working group, which includes the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and other government representatives, as per sources. 

Within two months, the DoT is reportedly going to introduce a portal for Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAF-COP). 
Once launched, a subscriber can check the number of mobile connections working in his/her name and can take action if he/she finds any additional mobile connections working in his/her name without his/her knowledge. 

Presently, the portal is active in States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Jammu & Kashmir. 

A national media quoting a government official said that discussions are currently underway to find out a robust mechanism for KYC by making digital document verification mandatory to tackle the issue of fake IDs and that the plan is to strengthen the TAP-COP portal and Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portals. 

For telecom operators, the CEIR portal acts as a central system to share blacklisted mobile devices so that they won’t work in any networks even if the SIM card in the device is changed. 

This portal also helps a user check the authenticity of the device and if the device is found to be a stolen one, a user can report it. Launched in 2019, this portal was made available to all subscribers last month. 

The government is also implementing solutions powered by AI and facial recognition for telecom SIM subscriber verification (ASTR) pan India to identify and block fraud SIM cards. 

There are many such SIM cards that are being provided on forged documents and are in the name of a third party. These cards are being used to carry out cyber crimes and are difficult to be traced. With the implementation of ASTR, such SIM cards and their KYC details can be detected and verified.