Cyber crimes are increasing in the State and other parts of the country because fraudsters can easily secure SIM cards from retail outlets without submitting valid identification proof. STF Uttarakhand SSP P Renuka Devi said that reviewing organised and cyber crime cases had revealed that many offenders were using SIM cards procured using invalid documents. It was also revealed that telecom service providers are not conducting proper verification of documents like ID proof of SIM card seekers.

The police officer of Cyber Crime Police Station has been directed to conduct further investigation on the  issue.

The Cyber Crime Police team listed mobile phone numbers of 142 SIMs secured by persons who had not submitted relevant and valid identity documents in different parts of the State.

Devi said that a letter will be written to Government agency- Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell to take action against telecom service operators or retail outlets concerned. TERM is meant to inspect premises of telecom and internet service providers and curb varied illegal activities in telecom services.

The officials can impose challan of upto Rs50, 000 on telecom operators if they are violating the guidelines. They can also register an FIR against the telecom operators if case of repeated violation of the laws.

Renuka Devi appealed the people to beware of calls from persons claiming to be representatives of telecom operators or unknown agencies, seeking personal information related to bank account numbers, passwords, PAN card number and other data.

Callers claiming that the receiver has won some lucky draw or a prize should not be given any important information, she added.