The Indian government has made it compulsory for users to submit identity proof to buy a fresh sim card. So, currently, if you wish to buy a new sim card, an Aadhaar card or a Voter card will be essential. However, people can still commit fraud by using other people’s identities to buy sims, which is why it’s pertinent to be able to find out which sim cards have been issued under your name or bought using your Aadhaar card.
Here is how you identify the number of sim cards bought under your name.
How to Identify Sim Cards Registered in Your Name
When you apply for an Aadhaar card, you are mandatorily required to link your phone number to the Aadhaar card. This mandate has made it easy to identify which Aadhaar card owners are linked with which mobile phone numbers. The phone number linked with your Aadhaar card becomes the default mobile number for all your further usage of your Aadhaar card from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). It’s vital for all your future Aadhaar verifications.
The Department of Telecommunications has launched a new website called the TAFCOP which lets you take advantage of this linkage and helps you trace who else has used your Aadhaar to buy a sim card (with/without your consent) with that phone number.
How to Trace the Sim Cards Registered Under Your Name/Aadhaar?
Sim card registering fraud has become one of the most guileful cyber crimes in India.
Swindlers use the sim cards bought using another person’s name for various grounds that are illegal, and that might result in the incarceration of the registered person instead of the user of the sim card.
Using the TAFCOP website, you can avoid this by keeping track of who, if anyone, is using a sim registered in your name. TAFCOP, or Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection, is aimed at securing a person’s identity and preventing its theft.
The website is entirely run by the government, and it already has a database of all the users who have an Aadhaar card.
How to Use the New TAFCOP Website?
The website is user-friendly and pretty simple to use.
Step 1: Open the TAFCOP website on your browser. This will take you to TAFCOP’s homepage
Step 2: The Home page displays a box to enter your mobile number. Make sure you enter the phone number that’s linked to your Aadhaar.
Step 3: Once you enter the phone number, you will receive an OTP. Enter the OTP in the box displayed on the screen.
Step 4: The numbers bought/registered under your name will appear as a list. You can choose which of those numbers are yours and which are not.
You can report the numbers that are not yours or that you haven’t bought through the procedures mentioned there.
Can You Have More than One Sim Card in Your Name?
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), any citizen of India can have up to 18 sim cards under their name. In other words, with every Aadhaar card, a person can purchase up to 18 sim cards. If a person has a particular need to purchase any more sim cards than that using the same Aadhaar card, then they need to acquire special permission as per the guidelines from the Ministry of Communications and IT Department of Telecommunications. This might require the submission of a CAF (Customer Acquisition Form).
This form allows a customer to apply for permission to hold extra sim cards. The permission can not be obtained through any other person other than the applicant, so it is a great way to keep a record of your cyber history.
Important Things to Keep in Mind Before Applying/Submitting CAF
- Make sure the phone number you put in the form is the same one that is linked to your Aadhaar card.
- You might also be asked to submit other proofs of identity, so it is best to keep other important documents such as (PAN, Bank details, etc.) handy.
- You only need to apply for additional sim cards if all the 18 sim cards you had previously bought are in use. If not, then you can just remove the ones not in use from your name and buy another card without having to submit any new application to TRAI.
