Constant enforcement activities of proper Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards carried out by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through its Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) team have resulted in securing convictions against more than 200 individuals arrested for indulging in sales of pre-registered SIM cards.
The telecoms regulator, which continuously notifies consumers on the dangers of patronising fraudulently activated or improperly registered SIM cards, partnered with government agencies including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the judiciary to stop the illegal sale of improperly registered SIM cards. It also partnered with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and telecoms consumers in ongoing consumer awareness programmes across the six geo-political zones of the country to sensitise consumers.
According to the Commission, due to fraudulently-activated SIM cards, many genuine subscribers have become victims of armed robbery, kidnapping and financial crimes or SIM swap fraud, requiring concerted efforts to address the menace.
As a proactive measure, the telecommunications regulator in 2017 came up with a SIM replacement guideline which makes the process of replacing lost, stolen or damaged SIM cards more stringent in order to protect telecommunications consumers.
Speaking recently on reason for such stringent conditions, Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman of NCC, said before replacing a SIM card, consumers are required to identify themselves properly through court affidavit, national identification card (or other valid IDs), SIM pack, among other requirements, saying this is to ensure that telecom subscribers are well protected from being victims of SIM swap fraud.
According to him, at times a subscriber might have issues with his or her phone number thinking it is a network issue.
“Unfortunately, by the time the subscriber discovers what is happening, money would have been fraudulently taken out of his or her bank account through the registered phone number using USSD codes. SIM swap or replacement has a lot of issues attached to it because, oftentimes, a lot of people who are not the owners of some numbers do SIM swap at various customer centres of the service providers,” Danbatta said.
He said there have been cases of fraudulent activities done on people’s bank accounts as a result of SIM swap and the victims often complain to the Commission, expecting that NCC will compensate them.
“To stop this SIM swap fraud, the Commission, in 2017, developed guidelines on SIM replacement, which sets water-tight rules for telecoms consumers to replace their SIM card when there is a need for it,” he said.
While noting that the regulatory body has observed that consumers often frown at being asked to bring court affidavit, national identification card (or other valid IDs), SIM pack, among other requirements, Danbatta explained that subscribers are likely to think that network providers are putting them through stress to have their SIM replaced.
“But consumers must appreciate the fact that information being required from them is to establish that anybody coming for SIM swap proves that the number requested to be swapped belongs to him/her. In this case, we enjoin consumers to immediately report to their respective banks to block their accounts or place a notice ‘no withdrawal’ on such account linked to the stolen, damaged or lost SIM cards,” Danbatta advised.
Meanwhile, industry observers agree that the issues concerning subscriber registration or re-registration are central to national security and so require severe regulatory framework to keep it under firm control as well as ensuring a high level of compliance, which is a routine exercise by the CME team of the Commission.
Buttressing the Commission’s initiative, Olusola Teniola, president, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said at a forum that the stringent measures adopted by the NCC should be appreciated by the consumers against the backdrop of the danger posed by a loose or casual SIM card registration and re-registration process raising all sorts of concerns in the country.
Speaking recently at the Enugu edition of the NCC sensitisation programme, Sunday Dare, executive commissioner, stakeholder management, stressed the importance of educating all stakeholders on the dangers of pre-registered SIM cards.
“The availability of improperly-registered SIM cards in any corner of Nigeria is a threat to the security of all of us. Such SIM cards make it possible to commit financial crimes whose victims are ordinary hardworking citizens,” Dare said.
“Also, pre-registered and fraudulently- activated SIM cards, if left unchecked, make it difficult for our law enforcement agents to apprehend persons involved in major criminal activities and they can be used in the perpetration of horrible crimes such as terrorism, kidnapping and similar felonies, making suspect virtue untraceable,” he said.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
