Cybercrime: Tanzania limits citizens to one SIM card per network

To control the use of mobile lines for security breaches and cybercrime, the Tanzanian government has launched a campaign to register all mobile phone subscribers.

The exercise limits the number of mobile phone numbers an individual can own to a single line per network with a fresh biometric registration of all SIM card holders from May 1 which will last till September.

Subscribers have to present their national identification card or its number for registration.

The Acting Corporate Communication Manager at Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority, Semu Mwakyanjala, the current system is not secure enough and lacks important subscriber details that are vital for the national identity card registration initiated two years ago.

“The information obtained from registered SIM cards will be directly linked to a subscriber’s national identification card ensuring there is no more misinformation or forgery of the documents; no one can forge fingerprints,” Mwakyanjala said.

Deputy Minister for Transport and Communications Atashasta Justus Nditiye said the biometric registration will stop individuals from holding multiple lines of the same network, “most of which are being used for fraud and theft.”

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