Beware while you’re issuing a new SIM card for your mobile device next time. Notice whether the card retailer tries to take your Aadhar Linked fingerprints more than once. It might be a big scam. The retailer can steal your whole data linked with Aadhar and can get a new issued without your concern.
After Aadhar has become an identity card, it is easy to issue a sim card by just giving a biometric thumb impression. Using these many retailers are selling the data of customers by creating fake sim cards issuing on others biometrics. These fake sim cards might be used for crimes, and you’ll get stuck. When you give your thumb impression, all documents linked with Aadhar are available to the retailers.
By just taking multiple thumbprints, they can issue fake sim cards on your name. Retailers verify customer’s fingerprints with customers not being able to see the confirmation of identity on the computer screen.
Cybersecurity cell in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi has traced some retailers which were selling such cards. Some of these cards are being used to operate illegal VoIP phone call rackets at different places in and abroad in the country. In 2018 Amberpet police Hyderabad registered a criminal case against a guy who has sold over 150 such fake sim cards. But recently these cases on data piracy are rising day by day.
Recently on the 21st of July 2020, a guy complained that he has never used a Jio service SIM card until now and he noticed that on his name there were 8 Jio SIM already issued, it’s a serious problem. After tweeting to Jio and UIDAI India, UIDAI asked Jio to look into the matter.
In UAE to counter such cases, they had a mobile application through which the user can check all issued SIM cards on his name and can terminate the SIM which is not related to him/her.
As of now in India, we don’t have a unified telecom subscriber database. so it’s not possible to get information about all the SIM’s issued on any person’s name. But if you want to know the number of SIM’s alloted on your name, then you’ve to call the customer care of that particular operator and check your details if available.
DoT officials are taking up a countrywide campaign to caution people against the misuse of Aadhar Biometrics by sim card sellers. We should alert the people in remote and rural parts about such scams thus can stop data piracy issues in India.
