Wouldn’t it be a shock if you found out that you possess 5 connections on your name but still you are unaware of the fact?
Though you are not billed for that but there are 5 strangers who are taking advantage of cellular communication on your name.
In a latest incident as reported by The Economic Times reveals that Vimla Gogri, 50, a resident of Vile Parle, had 3 active Vodafone numbers in her name.
With valid documents and 3 different application forms that not only carried her picture and permanent address, but also had a copy of her voter ID card attached was shown by ET to her then she came to realise the ugly truth.
Vimla Gogri bought a Vodafone SIM card six months ago. On July 30 three more Vodafone SIM cards were activated in her name.Mumbai Mirror traced Gogri to her small apartment in Vile Parle, all three SIMs were active. A call made to one of these numbers was answered by a woman. When told this number was registered in Gogri’s name, the woman disconnected the phone and then switched it off. Gogri said the signature on the Vodafone forms were not hers.
All three signatures on the forms were either in English or Hindi. Gogri, all her life, has signed in Gujarati and when a Vodafone spoke person was contacted he refused to comment and said that the company would need more time to investigate .
Same way Mumbai Mirror also traced and has in its possession another 600 Vodafone application forms used to issue SIM cards. Multiple forms in this bunch carry the same name, address and ID proof.
This means two things:
1. A dealer used one customer’s personal details to issue multiple cards to people who were not
in a position to produce ID proofs.
2. This dealer shopped in the now notorious ID market, where people’s personal details are available for a price. The going rate – Rs 5 for an ID proof with an original photograph, and Rs 50 for an ID with an original photograph and two supporting documents .
Just like Vodafone other operators can also play a spoilsport with your identity. In just the past six months, 54 FIRs have been registered against several retailers, cutting across a spectrum of service providers, for stealing a customer’s identity and then using it to issue multiple SIM cards to multiple customers.
Still no action has been taken up by the service providers who are legally bound to carry out a verification of a customer’s bona fides before activating a card.
This kind of thefts possess problems. The very first being that terrorists may misuse a mobile user’s identity, banking frauds, especially since some banks now allow customers to carry out transactions through their mobiles.
What’s your take on this incidents who is responsible the retailer or the operator? Leave us a comment below.
angryman August 26, 2011 at 11:31 am
i think this process should be made online with mandatory PAN no association
Prabaharan August 23, 2011 at 4:45 am
@Gins
Agree, A law is required and soon this should be implemented by all Telco’s
PD August 21, 2011 at 3:14 pm
The operators themselves are responsible for this.The retailers are mandated compulsorily to sell sim cards every month and also in turn offer incentives in greater proportions, especially against FR (First Recharge) of sim cards. And sometimes even more commissions for second, third recharges, etc. What is more even the subscribers too are offered bonanzas ! Inactive sims multiply because of this. The nitty-gritty ones buy the free sims, do FRC use them the for few days and once the balances are finished go for new ones…. Ideas galore…!
Arun Kumar August 19, 2011 at 9:51 am
The OPERATORs to be held solely responsible for this.. They should cross check their database for duplicate entries..
More over if retailers were taken into account it is not possible to stop this practice because they have chain of retailers and they can give their id copies to other retailers and get new connection..
Also there should be an centralized database that should have all companies database merged.. Only this would do the trick to stop all malpractices..
Gins August 18, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Hi,
A law should be passed by trai and a website where the user can view all the mobile numbers registered to his address,so he can knew.
Ravi August 18, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I Totally agree with u.
Kaushik August 18, 2011 at 12:27 am
Very rightly said, brother!!
jitu shah August 18, 2011 at 12:01 am
very true susanta these officials from sales head upto tms shuld be removed and their salaries to be utilisd in distributor and retailers margin. yhis is the ultimate solution for this mishap
mumBHAI August 17, 2011 at 11:42 pm
I think TRAI shd adopt the Pakistan Telcom Authority (PTA) Model of SIM verification. The PTA has linked the SIM database to thier national id. In india it shd be linked to PAN/UID nos. No SIM shd be issued using FORM 61. check this PTA link- pta.gov.pk/668/index.html -out.
Jay August 17, 2011 at 9:53 pm
@Vikas Patidar
Govt policy should be change
1)
Sim Actication should be done by massegeing customer name and id type and id no.
for example when a airtel retaler activate a sim he has to send a message to some predefined no for activation.
UN MobileNumber CustomerName
should be
UN UN MobileNumber IdType IdNumber CustomerName
So that it is feasible for the gov and company to restrict the multiple action with just a slide change of the name.like
UN 9XXXXXXXX1 meher sahu
UN 9XXXXXXXX2 mahar sahu
UN 9XXXXXXXX3 meher sahoo
UN 9XXXXXXXX4 maher sahoo etc.
2) Customer have right to know what are the sim activated by his name.
SUSHANTA August 17, 2011 at 9:36 pm
See every Service Provider is aware of this. I am also a Direct Channel partner of Uninor & have com across various name & addressed being forged. When someone comes to get his SIM locked or SIm Replacement we find these problems. one cannot beleive that a Distributor activates a SIM at say Howrah or Durgapur & it is being sold at Kolkata Market or Medinipur Market or Malda just to fulfill the Targets fixed by the company officials. Everyone in the company is aware of this – right from top to bottom. When sitations like the above comes up then they put the entire blame on the retailer, the distributor. But its them who are patronising them by giving lucrative offers on sale of SIM’s ina particular period. Gifts vary from Laptops, Bankok Trip, Goa Trip, refrigerators, 36 inch Colour Tv’s, Digital Cameras.
It is practiced in both Kolkata circle &Bengal circle. Police, Company Officals & Concerned Goverment agency are hand in glove with each other. One will not beleive that a Dy. manager grade executive is offered around 45000/- salary & like this the circle Head, Hub Head salary ranges between 5lac to 8lac per month. After all they are drawing such huge amounts so they have to so the Turover from their area & circle to the MD of the company. Its the company Officials who are entirely responsible for this unethical practice. 1st they should be put behind bars.
Vikas Patidar August 17, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Govt is very busy in corruptions now a days. They have left this responsibility on private operators. Let you (operators) do corruption but little bit less then us (Govt).
Amit Deb Biswas August 17, 2011 at 8:43 pm
No document needed to buy new sim.
Mirtunjay Kumar August 17, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Its not a big issue, we can’t stop this scenarion unless untill Govt take a strict decsion for the same. Telecom are hiring a outsider vendor for collecting the document, distributer is paying Rs 5 for fake document, they scan the Photo from Face book, linkedin, Orkut, scan ID proof and temper it. So i think its next to impossiable to stop.
Nawaz August 17, 2011 at 5:52 pm
This is an old issue….,TT guys !
2yearc back i too faced similar problems, a retailer(also a Tata docomo DSA)sold 14 gsm connections using my ID and Scanned Passport size photograph in Mysore and the Service provider responded on time by barring Network services to those illegal SIM’s which were registered on my ID’s.
Anked Paralkar August 17, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Why is TRAI so lenient with such mobile operators……..
Nothing can be done to prevent recursions of such incidents?
Is TRAI sleeping????????
ravishekhar August 17, 2011 at 4:10 pm
I have faced this type of problem.Generally dealers and retailers get extra benefit if they activate some predefined no.of connections in fixed time period thats why they use same user’s documents to start more than one connection. Sometimes I have seen that at the time of new sim purchase retailers ask for two photographs although only one photo is required to activate a mobile no.Even retailers don’t ask customer to sign on the customer application form.They just take documents from customers and use them to activate as many no.of connections as they wish,this is the true fact…..
Operators may discontinue this type of fake connections by asking customers to show their original identity proof and address proof at their stores like reliance world,vodafone store,etc…..(customers should have given a time slot/period to get their connection verified)..
Another way to stop this type of crime: If any customer feels that his/her documents may be used by retailers/dealers to activate some other connections then he/she may ask the operator to show me the all connections which are activated with my name and address after that he/she should be allowed to decide whether he/she wishes to continue with all connections or some connections should be disconnected immediately.
Thank you San Ghosh and TT for posting this type of important issue.
ravishekhar August 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm
The best option to stop any misuse of our identity proof,address proof,etc
TD August 17, 2011 at 3:34 pm
even known persons are not safe…. if company dealers do copy ID proofs, what can your known person do??? this happens with my friends….
Manoj Abhigyan August 17, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Do you want to buy SIM in black market that too with lot of problems? Remember the days when BSNL SIMs were used to be sold in black market.
Ashish Kumar August 17, 2011 at 2:49 pm
SIM card sold by govt……..the best option
Amit.G August 17, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Thats y one should always buy sim from the known person or it is very safe to buy sim in company owned outlets.
SM August 17, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Swiping a credit card could lead to more trouble !! and frauds on other accounts !!
AMAR August 17, 2011 at 2:23 pm
AIRTEL, VODAFONE DO NOT CUSTOMERS TO CHECK MY ACCOUNT SERVICE
RELIANCE, TATA ALLOWS.
MY ACCOUNT SERVICE HELP CUSTOMER TO KNOW BETTER ABOUT HIS/HER SIM, LIKE CALL MADE BY THE SIM,MAIN ACC BALANCE, NAME OF THE SIM HOLDER ETC
Manoj Abhigyan August 17, 2011 at 2:19 pm
How many Indians use Credit Card brother?
Abijit Dhir Deo August 17, 2011 at 2:18 pm
All operators do the same thing. Not a single company is clean. This happens every where in India. By going this way, the mobile operators make false claims about their stature and, claim benefits which are otherwise could not be granted.
victim August 17, 2011 at 2:00 pm
millions of sim cards were sold by airtel using this method.Matter was reported to SANJAY KAPOOR CEO and MANOJ KOHLI MD of BHARTI AIRTEL but complainant was sacked.AIRTEL started this method to increase subscribers.All their employees force distributors to do fake activations and remove them if they fail to do.Airtel is a threat to our nation.
Rohan Singh August 17, 2011 at 1:19 pm
AIRCEL too did the same thing in Kolkata. An unknown aircel no use to call me and disturb me. I contacted Aircel but they couldn’t help me out they said we need fir to help u out and they have no way to block some specific Nos. A frnd of mine in Aircel I took his help got all the details of a no and reached to the mentioned address and found out that the person don’t know even that no and has not purchased any Aircel no. This crime was committed by retailer itself. These companies give nos without verification to increase their customer base. Trai should cancel these Sims instead of deactivating a genuine customer Sims though it’s inactive for 20 days. Trai itself is reluctant everywhere a customer is harassed not these operators and retailers. Pre-activated sims should be banned and should be activated after verification only.
A. Jerold Phillips August 17, 2011 at 1:15 pm
It Can Be Done in Simple Way , Instead of Taking ID Proof , Government Ask Customers 1)Visit Store Directly ,
2) Instead of Id Proof ask The Customer to Swipe His/Her Credit Card as Proof ,
3)Customers Details will be There in His /Her Credit Card so Government to Implment Strict Action against those Culprits .
Pardeep August 17, 2011 at 1:10 pm
DoT and TRAI should take imme. action and create strong rules to purchase a number. Also every month Airtel, Vodafone and Idea create the total mobile subscriber base, this is fake list if such type of activities happens. So go for only govt companies Like BSNL & MTNL. These are always best in service to compte the market.
A. Jerold Phillips August 17, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Hi , Am From Bangalore , I Would Just Like to say its Preasure from the Company Falls on The DSR , Through DSR it Transfers to Retailers , To Earn Extra Money Retailers do all Kinds of Nonsence Thinks , Company Dosen’t Verify Not ASM , it all About Bussiness , To Earn Extra Money all This Happens , Am Working in Telecom Company , Recently i Visited Store Near my Place Retailer Collects Photo Of Customers & Prints the Same Photo to 6 Copies , Dsr Takes The Photo n ID Proof of The Customers & Divides in Different Areas , so Activation is Done in Different Areas , So Its All about Bussiness …..
Nidish Vashisth August 17, 2011 at 1:06 pm
This is a serious threat not only to country, but to an individual identity too!
The Government should made it compulsory that for a Mobile Connection.. UID number should be compulsory. This will ensure clarity in the system. Also a portal should be created online by telecos joint venture, in which if we enter our UID number, we can see how many numbers with location/operators are running in our name.
In our neighbor country Pakistan follows the same method. At least we can learn something good from these people!
aditya August 17, 2011 at 12:24 pm
EVEN vodafone stores and mini stores ALSO DO THE SAME I WAS ASKED FOR 2 TIMES PRODOUCING THE DOCUMENT AND MY MOBILE CONNECTION WAS DISCONNECTED BY NOT PRODOUCING THEM
Nayan Mallick August 17, 2011 at 12:17 pm
all of this hasitating procedure is going for retailer.
Manoj Thakur August 17, 2011 at 12:13 pm
You are right. Every telecom company has set up their official stores at different locations. So people should go their to buy a new connection. It will be a secure method to take new connection without any fear of re-production of your ID Proof by retailers.
Manoj Thakur August 17, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Retailers are responsible as well as Companies.
AMAR August 17, 2011 at 12:06 pm
this is the truth.
in many area. retailers do not give form to the customer.
he fill the form itself and give a signature.
so don’t buy any sim from such retailers.
GO TO AUTHORIZED RETAILERS OR DIRECTLY TO THEIR OWN STORE Ex. VODAFONE STORE, airtel store or BSNL CSC.
Sayantan Nandi August 17, 2011 at 12:05 pm
well, you should avoid small shops selling sim cards at all costs…get it from bigger shops like “the mobile store” or official stores of the telecom company-vodafone stores and mini stores.
collegeboy07 August 17, 2011 at 11:57 am
retailers they do it as they get commission for every sale or proof they produce. only step is that operator should take necessary steps to avoid these type of incidence
rahulraj August 17, 2011 at 11:56 am
thanks tt for bringing this issue in limelight…. even i had the same doubt when these operators ask for id proofs multiple times and if their demand is unfulfilled leads to disconnection…. customers are really helpless in these situations…. plz suggest necessary steps to avoid misuse of our id…..