ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in coordination with Meta, has blocked 176,000 WhatsApp accounts registered against recycled mobile numbers to prevent cyber fraud and misuse of inactive SIMs.
PTA officials said the accounts were blocked following complaints that recycled numbers were being used to carry out fraudulent activities through WhatsApp.
According to the authority, telecom operators currently hold around 16 million recycled mobile numbers. These numbers are reassigned to new subscribers after being disconnected or cancelled, but WhatsApp accounts linked to them may remain active, creating opportunities for misuse.
To address the issue, the PTA has shared approximately 10 million recycled mobile numbers with Meta for verification and action against associated accounts.
The two sides have also agreed on a permanent arrangement under which the PTA will share 5,000 recycled numbers with Meta every month. WhatsApp accounts linked to these numbers will be identified and deactivated in phases.
Officials said the initiative aims to prevent new subscribers from facing fraud or other problems caused by WhatsApp accounts previously registered against their mobile numbers.
The development follows growing complaints about cyber fraud involving accounts linked to inactive and cancelled SIMs.
PTA officials also revealed that Meta had resolved 82 per cent of the complaints referred by the regulator during the previous year.
The new mechanism is intended to strengthen digital security and reduce the risk of fraud linked to recycled mobile numbers.
