To combat cybercrime, the Lucknow Cyber Crime Police are using new measures. The team will now restrict the mobile devices’ IMEI codes to stop them from being utilised in cybercrimes, in addition to deleting phone lines that fraudsters use.

The city has already blacklisted more than 5,000 numbers in five zones, and more will follow. A single SIM card is often used by cybercriminals to scam several victims. The thieves would simply use a new SIM card in the same smartphone to carry on their crimes, even if the police had already blacklisted the numbers used in these frauds.

The Cyber Crime Cell is now attempting to restrict these devices’ IMEI numbers in order to remedy this. To urge that telecom firms ban the numbers and the IMEI, police officers have been sent to each zone to gather complaints of fraud incidents.

Representatives of telecom companies have been contacted by Abhinav, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who has asked for information on people who keep getting SIM cards under the same ID and reports on the issue. According to the ACP, efforts to prevent cybercrime are still underway.

The 5,000 numbers that were banned in a single day are from different Indian states. In order to take further action with the relevant regional police, the team is now looking into the origin of these SIM cards. Additionally, the Cyber Crime Cell is collaborating with banks to collect data on accounts that fraudsters use, such as KYC information, ATM card use, and the frequency of KYC updates.