According to industry sources, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked telcos to prohibit SMS facility (incoming and outgoing) for 24 hours on new SIM cards after activation. The condition also applies for the numbers requesting for SIM swap or upgrade. Telecom operators have been given 15 days to implement the procedure.
The added measure addresses the risk of SIM swap fraud. DoT has already outlined detailed measures to be implemented when handling a SIM upgrade, reissue, swap request, including multiple layers of confirmation once the customer raises the request. SIM swap fraud occurs when fraudsters obtain information regarding a customer through fake calls or phishing and use the same to approach the telecom service provider for a new SIM card on the same number.
DoT had issued detailed procedural reforms in 2016 and 2018 for seeking explicit consent of the customers for issuance of new SIM cards in cases of upgradation. Under the guidelines issued by the DoT, once a telco receives a request for a new SIM on an existing number, it is required to send a message conveying the receipt of such a request. Additionally, it also needs to check the receipt of the new SIM card through an interactive voice response system (IVRS) call to the subscriber on the current SIM card, to authenticate the request, and the receipt of the new SIM. At any point, if the customer does not affirm the request, the process of SIM upgrade needs to be terminated immediately.
