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The Department of Telecommunications issued a public advisory that tampering with the IMEI number of a mobile device, or using a device with a tampered telecommunication identifier, is a punishable offence.
The governing law is the Telecommunications Act, 2023: Section 42(3)(c) bars tampering with telecommunication identifiers and Section 42(3)(e) bars obtaining SIMs or identifiers by fraud, cheating or impersonation.
Punishment extends to three years' imprisonment, a fine up to Rs 50 lakh, or both; under Section 42(7) the offences are cognizable and non-bailable, and under Section 42(6) abettors face the same punishment.
Citizens were told to avoid SIM boxes and modems with configurable IMEIs, SIMs obtained on fake documents, transferring their SIM to others, and apps that alter Calling Line Identity.
DoT pointed citizens to the Sanchar Saathi platform, where a handset's IMEI can be checked against its registered brand, model and manufacturer.
Received presidential assent on 24 December 2023. Its key operative provisions, including Sections 42 to 44, were brought into force on 26 June 2024. Section 42 is the general offences provision: sub-section (3)(c) covers identifier tampering, (3)(e) covers fraudulently obtained SIMs, (6) extends liability to abettors and (7) makes the offences cognizable and non-bailable.
The 138-year-old statute that governed Indian telecommunications until the 2023 Act repealed it. Under it, offences were framed around 'telegraphs' and 'messages'; the new Act introduces the modern concept of a 'telecommunication identifier', which is what makes IMEI and CLI tampering directly punishable.
Also repealed by the Telecommunications Act, 2023, consolidating the sector under a single modern law.
An IMEI is a 15-digit number that identifies the physical handset, not the person or the subscription. Its first eight digits form the Type Allocation Code (TAC), allocated by the GSMA to the device manufacturer or brand owner and identifying the make and model; the next six digits are the unit's serial number, and the last digit is a check digit. Because the IMEI travels with the device on every network, it is what lets a stolen phone be blocked across all operators, and what lets investigators tie a device to a crime. That is precisely why criminals clone or rewrite IMEIs - a device with a duplicated or fabricated IMEI becomes untraceable, and a blocked handset can be revived under another identity. The IMEI should not be confused with the IMSI, which is stored on the SIM and identifies the SUBSCRIBER, or with the Calling Line Identity (CLI), the displayed calling number, which fraudsters spoof through apps to impersonate banks and government offices.
Simple Analogy: The IMEI is the vehicle's chassis number and the SIM's IMSI is the driving licence. Rewriting an IMEI is filing off the chassis number so the vehicle cannot be traced back to a theft.
A citizen-centric DoT platform, launched in May 2023, that lets subscribers secure their mobile connections and devices; available as both a web portal and a mobile app.
Key: Acts as an umbrella for several fraud-control modules rather than a single service, and is the tool this advisory directs citizens to for verifying a handset's IMEI against its registered brand and model.
Lets a citizen block a lost or stolen handset so that it cannot connect to any operator's network, and unblock it if recovered.
Key: Blocking works by IMEI, which is why IMEI tampering directly defeats the system - a rewritten IMEI escapes the blocklist.
Shows a subscriber all mobile connections issued in their name so they can report and get disconnected any they did not take.
Key: Targets the fraudulently-obtained SIM, the conduct made an offence by Section 42(3)(e).
A reporting facility for suspected fraud communication received by call, SMS or WhatsApp - impersonation, phishing and financial-fraud attempts.
Key: Complements the punitive route by feeding citizen reports into DoT's fraud analytics.
Lets a buyer check whether a handset's IMEI is valid, duplicated or blacklisted before purchasing a new or second-hand device.
Key: Turns IMEI verification into a consumer-protection step at the point of sale.
Nodal department for telecom policy, licensing and spectrum under the Ministry of Communications; issued this advisory and runs Sanchar Saathi and its modules
Built the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction (ICDR) system, operational from 28 January 2020, which screens imported handsets for duplicate, fake or non-genuine IMEIs before customs clearance
The global industry body representing mobile operators; allocates the Type Allocation Code that forms the first eight digits of every IMEI, to manufacturers and brand owners
A SIM box routes international calls over local SIMs so they arrive looking like domestic calls, evading international settlement charges and hiding the caller's origin. Devices with configurable IMEIs make such boxes hard to trace, which is why the advisory names modems and modules alongside handsets.
CLI spoofing is the technical step behind calls that appear to come from a police station, a bank or a courier company. Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi exists to collect exactly these reports.
A cognizable offence lets police register a case and arrest without a magistrate's warrant; non-bailable means bail is at the court's discretion rather than a matter of right. Section 42(7) applying both labels is what raises identifier tampering from a regulatory breach to a serious criminal offence.
TRAI, a statutory body created by the TRAI Act, 1997, regulates tariffs and quality of service and issues regulations against unsolicited commercial communication - but prosecution for identifier tampering runs through DoT and the Telecommunications Act, 2023, not through TRAI.
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Government Policies and Interventions; GS Paper 3 > Internal Security > Cyber Security
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Government Portals
General Awareness > Digital Frauds and Consumer Protection
The Telecommunications Act, 2023 and Sanchar Saathi have both featured repeatedly in general-awareness papers since 2024.
A unique series of digits, characters or symbols assigned to a user, device or network under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 - IMEI, IP address and SMS header are examples.
International Mobile Equipment Identity - a 15-digit number identifying the handset itself, made of an 8-digit Type Allocation Code, a 6-digit serial number and a check digit.
The calling number displayed to the recipient; spoofing it is expressly listed in the advisory as an offence.
An offence in which police may register a case and arrest without a warrant - Section 42(7) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 places identifier tampering in this class.
Central Equipment Identity Register - the database through which a lost or stolen handset is blocked by IMEI across all networks.