Categories: Technology

SIM-NIN: NCC Sends Strong Message To Telcos, Agents

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has asked telecommunication companies and licensed agents to comply with the subscriber identity module (SIM) registration guidelines.

Efosa Idehen, director, the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the NCC, disclosed this during the commission’s flagship radio programme aired in Rivers State on Thursday.

Idehen, in a statement made available by Ikechukwu Ayinde, the director, public affairs of NCC, said consumers should be vigilant to ensure proper capturing, either for new SIM activation or SIM replacement.

The Consumer Affairs Bureau of the NCC, maintained that operators are to ensure strict compliance when registering their customers.

According to him, “As the telecom regulator in Nigeria, our role is to enforce compliance with the extant SIM activation and replacement procedures in order to avoid problems that may arise in the event of stolen, lost, damaged SIMs or the need to upgrade SIM cards”.

He added that compliance with the stipulated procedures will forestall identity theft, fraudulent SIM swap, and other deceitful activities.

Making a reference to the policy, Idehen said all SIM replacements should be undertaken by the service providers or their licensed agents in a controlled environment to eliminate the recurrent complaints of inconclusive SIM replacement procedures.

“Such experiences have resulted in subscribers being defrauded by cyber fraudsters,” he said.

Speaking on the significance of SIM registration to personal and national security, he, however, urged telecom consumers to be wary of fake agents purporting to be working for mobile network operators (MNOs) with the intent to defraud unsuspecting subscribers.

Idehen said: “One of the antics of such agents is to ask for the one-time password (OTP) forwarded to the consumer for activation of the SIM, especially after the SIM replacement process has been done. Telecom consumers to be wary of such scams.”