Bhubaneswar, May 9 (IANS): The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has disconnected 51,260 fake SIM cards of different telecom service providers in Odisha after finding those non-bonafide.

The DoT has conceptualised and implemented artificial intelligence (AI) based facial recognition tool called ASTR for telecom SIM subscriber verification with a vision to analyse, identify and weed out fake/forged, non-bonafide mobile connections to curb the menace of cybercrimes.

Using ASTR technology, the telecommunication department identified 52,088 suspected mobile connections issued by different telecom operators in Odisha. These suspected mobile connections were re-verified by the concerned telecom operators and as a result 51,260 connections were found non bonafide and disconnected, B.K. Nayak, additional DG (telecom) Odisha, said in a statement.

Based on analysis, a total of 2,417 point of sales (PoSs)/SIM sellers who were involved in such fraudulent activities have been blacklisted. Further, police complaints have been made for investigation and taking necessary action against the culprits, he said.