Telecom operators will be implementing new directives for SIM card registration in a move Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) said will help curb fraud. Under the new requirement, according to the telecom regulator, anyone who wishes to get a new SIM card or swap will have to go to their respective service providers’ service centres, authorized agent shops and kiosks. According to Charles Gahungu, the General Manager ICT Regulation Department at RURA, that this new procedure will enhance SIM card security because it will include ID verifications and also taking pictures of the people buying or swapping SIM cards. “Literally the sim cards were being registered by only checking if the ID number exists, where the agents were able to activate the sim card as long as they had an ID number, this resulted in people having sim cards registered on their IDs without their knowledge” he said. “With this new process, before swapping or registering a SIM card, the service providers will first check if the presented National ID matches the data in the National Identification Agency and confirm that the person physically present is the ID owner.” He added. Gahungu added that this will help curb fraudulent acts that were being done like Mobile money scams, among others because they will now be able to track the sim card owners. According to George Kagabo, General Manager of Internal Audit and Forensics at MTN the telecommunication company has so far this year registered seven cases of fraud stemming from unauthorized SIM swaps. “The most recurring frauds were adding SIM cards on people’s IDs without their consent and later using those SIM cards in fraudulent activities, making it hard to track and apprehend the fraudsters as the numbers are not registered on them but rather to innocent customers. And frauds on Mobile Money,” he said. Kagabo added that this new registration process will ensure that these fraudulent activities are addressed. Airtel Rwanda welcomed the new regulation, saying it seeks to enhance the security of all mobile phone users, and that the smooth rollout of this process will result in peace of mind for the customers thanks to the new layer of authentication that has been added as a result. RURA reminded all telecom subscribers to carry out a regular check of SIM cards registered on their IDs by dialling *125#, and self-deregister any unrecognized SIM card.
