Pre-registered SIM Cards: Subscribers Should be Watchful NCC Warns!

The main goal of the SIM-NIN registration project is to help combat crime by linking individual SIM cards to their owners. In spite of this goal, there has been a troubling development in that cybercriminals are now resorting to buying pre-registered SIM cards in order to defraud hapless people.

The unregulated sales and use of pre-registered SIM cards still go on and present a serious obstacle to the quest to determine the real identity of mobile phone users in Nigeria. 

The commission admits that, as concerning as it is, these illegal enterprises are not restricted but rather planned to aid or aggravate other crimes, for example, armed robbery, abduction, fraud, terrorism, etc.

The commission emphasizes that the public needs to understand that the regulations, subsidiary legislations, and instructions on the registration of SIM cards in Nigeria have not been repealed. 

The public is cautioned and instructed for the good of the integrity and safety of the use of mobile phones in the country to refrain from engaging in any business, trade, or activities that may lead to the sale and use of pre-registered SIM cards.

You should never use your NIN to register a sim for a friend, not even a family member!

The sale or even the use of pre-registered SIM cards is a criminal activity in Nigeria under the law of the Nigerian Communications Commission and therefore shall attract appropriate punishment. Pursuant to NCC regulations, these unlawful acts attract some civil penalties or criminal punishment, or some combination of both.

Telecom companies caught in the act of selling pre-registered SIM cards bear the brunt of the law, which is a hefty fine of 300,000 Naira or any other amount as may be prescribed. 

However, those who are arrested on account of using or even having in their possession pre-registered SIM cards do not escape unscathed, as they may also be punished by serving a prison term.

Even during the payment of fines and reported arrests of sellers in multiple regions of the country, the sales and uses of the pre-registered SIM cards continue to thrive. 

This case does explain the difficulty that regulatory bodies continuously face in trying to put an end to this illegal activity and points out the importance of keeping vigilance and enforcement actions to mitigate the integrity of the SIM registration processes and telecommunications security in Nigeria. 

Suggested As A Way to Curb Illegality In Sim-NIN registration trade  

Worryingly, SIM registration agents have taken a dangerous turn and begun using other people’s names or details to register and distribute SIM cards without their consent.

These SIM cards, acquired by such illegal means, are sold to persons with criminal intentions who plan on utilizing these SIM cards for malicious schemes and motives, thereby remaining anonymous. This activity is extremely difficult to curb since the phone numbers won’t reveal the identity of the perpetrator who used it to commit the crime. 

In order to protect citizens during the registration process of SIM cards, the following strategies are considered strategies to mitigate this whole issue:

1. Use of Virtual NIN to Register SIM Card

The illegal registration of SIM-NINs is on the rise, and thus, the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) devised means to solve this problem, which gave rise to the introduction of NIN tokenization, and virtual NINs, serving as a good example.

Virtual NIN is a sixteen (16) alpha-numeric digit. You can use it to register for anything ranging from healthcare, insurance, educational services, and even SIM registration. All you need to do is generate one using a NIN. Check out the guide on how to generate a virtual NIN.

This NIN token is not reusable. For instance, if you wish to register two SIMs on the same mobile network, you will need to generate a new token after each registration. 

But there’s an important point we need to highlight. The agents who register SIM cards have the privilege to generate virtual NINs for subscribers, so agents might generate NIN tokens for any illegal activities they intend to partake in. This brings us to the second guide… 

2. Insert the registered SIM in your phone after each successful registration.

It has come to our attention that customers do request agents to insert the SIM card into their phones for activation. Why is this practice highly inappropriate? 

As has been mentioned before, any agent who takes part in this practice will also involve the company that employs him or her. The company will be obligated to pay a penalty for their actions, and the agent, if captured in the act, will serve the prison sentence. 

Telecom companies have been active in this area by sending messages to subscribers who are intending to buy new SIMs. These messages contain all the important details, such as how many SIMs you’ve registered so far under your NIN. You are supposed to check and verify if you are the one who registered those particular numbers, and if you are not the owner of the numbers, report to the nearest office. 

This is now very clear that, allowing the agent who registered your new SIM to insert your SIM in their gadget, there are high chances that the agent will erase these messages and you may not have the opportunity to view it again.

On the other hand, we would like you to remember that there are certain instances where, due to network issues in your area, you may not receive these messages. In this scenario, proceed with the next step.

3. Check and Confirm the Phone Numbers Linked to Your NIN

To emphasize how important this issue is, mobile network operators provided a means for subscribers to check the phone numbers that are associated with their NIN. Follow our tutorial on how to check the phone numbers associated with your NIN.

Why Do Agents Sell Pre-registered SIM Cards?

As we understand the state of the Nigerian economy, the price of goods and services does increase on a daily basis. To be honest, agents do earn huge profits selling these registered SIMs. An agent can profit between N1500 and N5000 per SIM depending on how he markets it. So you see how profitable it is!

Furthermore, the sale of pre-registered SIMs is not only lucrative but is also employed by agents to meet their daily, weekly, and monthly quotas set by the telecom company they work for.

Do Not Purchase, Utilize, or Sell a Pre-Registered SIM

The sale of pre-registered SIM cards and its consequences impact the lives of many citizens since it allows criminals to easily misuse them to implicate innocent people. 

These pre-registered SIM cards are easily available to a multitude of people, allowing them to use them without any legal pressure, which poses immense dangers to everyone’s safety, where experienced criminals can potentially misuse the SIMs whenever they wish to do so. 

Criminal activities such as phone masking, threats, extortion, identity fraud, armed robbery, and even the trade of human beings can be easily conducted by using these pre-registered SIM cards and still be anonymous. These actions pose immense threats to every individual’s mental, emotional, and physical health since they create various types of crime. 

In light of this serious matter, the Commission tries to highlight and recommends to citizens to not deal in the buying or selling of these illegally pre-registered SIM cards. As these activities are illegal and can lead to serious punishments, the Commission tries to, with the help of citizens, maintain a stronghold over the law to protect the telecommunication system.