India’s Department of Telecommunications has achieved remarkable success in combatting SIM card fraud with the aid of its facial recognition tool, ASTR, developed by the Center for the Development of Telematics (C-DoT). Over the past six months, ASTR has contributed to the identification and disconnection of over six million untrusted SIM card connections in India.
This is not the first time that India has utilized the ASTR facial recognition system to combat fraudulent SIM connections. In May, the system was instrumental in deactivating approximately 17,000 SIM cards across two states. Moreover, it played a vital role in preventing around 10,000 instances of voter fraud during a village election later that month.
The ASTR system operates by matching a photo or video against an image stored in the SIM card subscriber database. It assesses whether a profile is associated with more SIM cards than the government’s limit of nine per Aadhaar digital ID, effectively curbing the abuse of this regulation.
The system’s effectiveness has been further highlighted in cases where a single Aadhaar digital ID was linked to hundreds of phone purchases, in clear violation of the nine-SIM card limit.
Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO of C-DoT, emphasized the remarkable capabilities of the ASTR platform, which can detect biometric spoofing attempts. The system has successfully identified around 1,000 to 2,000 profiles with similar facial vectors linked to fraudulent SIM card purchases.
Upon detecting such irregular connections, the relevant telecom company, responsible for the connected SIM card, is promptly notified. If users fail to provide their “know your customer” (KYC) details within 60 days, the lines are disconnected. Additionally, efforts have been made to deactivate WhatsApp accounts linked to fraudulent SIM cards.
Meanwhile, Mozambique is taking steps to implement facial recognition and fingerprint biometrics for SIM card registration to combat fraudulent SIM registrations. The country’s Communications Regulatory Authority (INCM) originally unveiled this plan in April, and it is scheduled to be enacted in early 2023. This initiative aligns with new government regulations designed to enhance security and identity verification during the SIM card registration process, which is set to commence in January. This move is expected to benefit Mozambique’s approximately 16 million mobile service users in a population of 32 million people.
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