Pakistan’s Slow Pace on Fraud Control: Only 1,875 Mobile Numbers Blocked in a Year, India Ahead

Pakistan has taken minimal action against telecom fraud, managing to block just 1,875 mobile numbers and 1,604 mobile devices in the past year. In contrast, India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has implemented far-reaching measures, blocking tens of millions of mobile numbers and hundreds of thousands of devices.

Pakistan’s Measures
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) used its Fraud Management Module to identify fraudulent activity. Despite this, only 1,875 mobile numbers and 1,604 devices were blocked. Additionally, 69 repeat offenders’ CNICs were blacklisted, and warnings were issued to 6,014 suspicious subscribers.

India’s Aggressive Action
According to a March 21, 2025, PIB report, India has blocked over 34 million mobile numbers and 319,000 IMEI numbers to curb fraud. Under the “Sanchar Saathi” initiative, more than 20,000 bulk SMS senders were blacklisted. Leveraging AI and big data analytics, India also deactivated 1.697 million WhatsApp accounts linked to fraudulent activity, showing a far more proactive approach than Pakistan.

The Need for Faster Systems in Pakistan
PTA’s Fraud Management Module, introduced in February 2021, operates under the “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2020”. It works alongside other systems like DIRBS (Device Identification Registration and Blocking System) and LSDS (Lawful Subscriber Data System) to detect fraud and maintain telecom market transparency. However, with over 512,000 customer support calls handled by the CSC in 2024-25, authorities need to speed up system efficiency to better protect users.

Conclusion
While Pakistan has taken some steps to combat fraud, India remains far ahead, both in scale and effectiveness. The slow pace in Pakistan highlights the urgent need for faster implementation and stricter enforcement to secure telecom users.