ISLAMABAD: In a move to curb scams, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked over 163,000 illegal SIMs across provinces, according to media reports.
The Authority has permanently blocked over 6.4 million unused SIMs in a major crackdown to curb scammers and fraudsters.
Furthermore, 2.989 million SIM cards registered to the identities of deceased people have been blocked. The authority also blocked 171 SIMs registered under the names of unrelated women in new districts and 69,246 SIMs linked to canceled identity cards.
Furthermore, 783,000 SIM cards connected with over 360,000 expired identification cards have been blocked, according to PTA records.
The PTA has increased its surveillance and enforcement efforts against fraudulent SIM cards. 62 raids were undertaken around the country, with 72 people arrested for illegally selling SIM cards.
During the raids, 193 illicit biometric devices and 11,470 SIM cards were recovered. Documents also show that approximately 296,000 digital fingerprints connected to fraudulent biometric data were seized.
