The Communication Authority of Kenya has given service providers seven days to switch off all unregistered Sim cards, warning that failure to do so, would attract regulatory action.
The regulator has also asked mobile service providers to ensure that identification documents are verified and are part of the integrated system at the time of registration.
According to Capital FM, a forensic audit has found rampant cases of non-conformity with the SIM card registration regulations and evidence that showed operators are not in control of the agents.
The audit is said to also show that the data in the subscriber databases of the operators was incomplete and inaccurate, pointing to the need for a verification system to help enhance the authenticity of the data.
“According to the findings, it was evident that operators are not in control of the agents. This was occasioned by weak controls in the management of SIM sales agents. In most cases, a dangerous trend was noted where the operators’ databases that had records which appeared to have been populated from other secondary sources,” Wangusi said.
This comes when mobile service providers are looking at different ways to help curb Sim swap related cases, with Safaricom looking at biometric identification during Sim replacement and registration.
Twenty-two people had earlier in August been arrested in relation to sim swap fraud where some employees of the service providers were also involved.
