Cape Town, 29 May – South African regulators and police are examining tougher sanctions on mobile operators and retailers as security experts warn that poorly enforced SIM-card registration laws let criminals issue untraceable ransom demands and banking-fraud instructions.
Independent Communications Authority figures show more than 90 million active SIMs, but last year’s compliance audits found thousands still coded to fake or temporary identities; smaller vendors and online classifieds routinely sell pre-activated cards without verifying buyer documents.
Investigators cite recent kidnapping cases in Gauteng and KwaZulu — Natal where ransom calls originated from numbers that could not be linked to any verified subscriber; analysts say the certainty of anonymity encourages perpetrators to discard SIMs once crimes are committed.
Parliament is debating an electronic — crime Bill that could raise fines and threaten spectrum-licence suspensions for operators who fail to clean customer databases; public hearings next month will feed final recommendations to Cabinet, while consumer groups urge caution to avoid pricing low-income prepaid users out of the market.
Source: iol
