When the call for Kenyans to update the registration of their SIM cards with their respective telcos came recently, there was a bit of negative sentiment and pushback from some citizens. This is perfectly understandable especially from a data safety point of view since registration means giving full identification details to the mobile service provider. The sentiment among many was that they already registered their cards and there is no justifiable need to give additional details.
For successful use of mobile technology and for the safety of everyone though, Government needs to have a clean, accurate and up-to-date database of all SIM card holders within and without the country. That is not the case at the moment and here is why.
Back in 2010, we saw the beginnings of successful drives to register existing SIM cards and this came along with mandatory registration of all new cards upon purchase. Over the years, this has not been upheld by sellers and soon enough SIM cards were being sold even on the streets. This created a loophole where hundreds of cards were registered fraudulently by criminals. This scenario opens the field for SIM related crimes like money laundering, cybercrime and mobile money fraud among others.
We all have glaring examples of misuse of unregistered cards, top of mind being the infamous Kamiti inmates who run criminal cartels to defraud unsuspecting Kenyans of millions of shillings. As the custodian of the law and with the mandate to keep criminal activity to a minimum, the need for a clean SIM card data base is not an option for Government. The exact numbers may not be in public domain, but phone and SIM identification has helped law enforcement nab tens of criminals. With the cleaning up of the data base and selling of cards only at designated shops and authorized dealers henceforth, we are well on our way to a safer country.
Here is a scenario of how SIM fraud works. From building logs and other places where we leave our information, fraudsters get hold of a person’s details like name, phone number and ID number. With this information and an unregulated SIM card, they recreate that person’s identity and from there it is free fall. They can take loans, impersonate innocent people, and in more scary scenarios, they can engage in serious crimes like terrorism. Not to be a scare monger but it is a fact for instance that Westgate terrorists had 50 SIM cards registered using stolen IDs.
The fear of invasive privacy practices among citizens is justified alright but so is Government’s need to trace details of subscribers engaged in criminal activities. At this time when we are headed for the general elections especially, hate speech, incitement and war mongering cannot be ruled out. There was never a better time to have a clean database for law enforcement to tap into if and when need arises.
Communication Authority has since extended the registration deadline to October 15th, giving Kenyans ample time to complete the exercise. Safaricom is now at 70% compliance and the telco wishes to reach 100% by end of June.
If you are in the 30%, register your line by visiting a Safaricom shop, authorized dealer, or SIM selling agent with a ‘Pata SIM hapa’ signage. There is also a self-update option on *106# option 2. This will lead you to Safaricom’s legit self-registration portal online (insert link). You must have your original ID for registration.
SIM registration is not just a CA directive. It is also an individual responsibility which will go a long way in keeping us and our loved ones safe.