Near 2 Lac Pakistani WhatsApp Accounts Blocked

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has taken action to block 176,000 WhatsApp accounts linked to recycled mobile numbers, working alongside Meta to combat cyber fraud and safeguard mobile subscribers. This move comes in response to complaints that such recycled numbers were being exploited to carry out fraudulent activities via WhatsApp.

The regulator has provided approximately 10 million recycled mobile numbers to Meta for verification and to identify any WhatsApp accounts registered under them. As part of a new ongoing arrangement, PTA will continue to send 5,000 recycled mobile numbers to Meta each month, enabling the platform to detect and block related accounts.

Currently, telecom operators in Pakistan hold around 16 million recycled mobile numbers, which can pose security risks if WhatsApp accounts associated with them remain active once the original SIM cards have been cancelled or deactivated. When telecom operators issue these recycled numbers to new subscribers, existing WhatsApp accounts may still be linked to the numbers, creating opportunities for fraudsters to misuse them and potentially target unsuspecting subscribers.

To address this issue, PTA and Meta have agreed on a phased plan to identify and block WhatsApp accounts associated with recycled numbers.

Meta has also shown its commitment to tackling this problem. According to PTA officials, the company resolved 82 percent of complaints forwarded by the regulator during the previous year.