How many existing SIMs are there in your name and has anyone taken a fake SIM? Here's how to check

SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Module) are one of the digital identities. It is natural to have multiple SIM cards in one's name. We will only know about these SIMs which we have taken with our ID.

But there is a possibility that there are SIM cards which are taken with our identity cards but which we don't use and we don't even know about. In this day and age where digital frauds are on the rise, cybercriminals can easily get hold of our ID card and Aadhaar card details.

SIM cards are taken by other people's ID cards which are obtained in various ways and illegal activities are carried out using them. But we will have to walk after all this and we will be ignorant. That is why it is good to check and make sure that no one has taken a fake SIM card in our name.

The government of India's Sanchar Saathi portal has a nifty tool to find out how many SIMs are registered with our Aadhaar card. It is very easy to check the SIM information in our name.

How to know details of SIM card registered in our name: To find out how many SIMs are registered with our ID information like Aadhaar number, open your preferred internet browser and search for 'Tafcop portal'. There you can find the option to the 'Sanchar Sathi' portal.

Then on the Sanchar Sathi page that appears, we will be asked to type our mobile number and enter a captcha. After entering this click on 'Validate Captcha' and an OTP will be generated. Enter it in the OTP field and tap on the 'Login' button.

On the web page which will be available later, we can see the active mobile numbers in our name. If you find a suspicious-looking number among these, you can report it by clicking on the tick box on the left, selecting the 'Not My Number' option, and clicking on the 'Report' button below to continue.

This will inform the Department of Telecommunications that the number is not yours. Then the government may stop the services for that particular number. If you no longer need a particular connection, you can select the 'Not required' option. You can select the 'Required' option and click on the 'Report' button to confirm the number you are using.

Intending to curb cybercrime in the country, the central government has introduced new restrictions on the purchase and sale of SIMs. The Sanchar Sathi portal is also part of the government's drive against fake SIM cards. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had earlier stated that the government has verified 52 lakh mobile numbers acquired through fake documents after its launch.