Bangkok Post – NBTC blocks three million suspicious SIM cards

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has blocked more than three million SIM cards because holders did not confirm their identity to their mobile operator by the deadline, an indication of the NBTC’s measures to deal with the accounts of suspected fraudsters.

According to NBTC Commissioner General Nathathorn Prousoontorn, the three million blocked SIM cards were divided into two categories.

The first group includes people with between six and 100 SIM card numbers who had to prove their identity between January 16 and July 13 this year. The buyers of 2,141,317 SIM cards did not provide the required verification by the deadline.

The second group includes people with over 100 SIM cards who had to prove their identity by February 14. The 1,096,000 SIM cards in this group were blocked because the owners could not provide the required proof by the deadline.

General Nathathorn said the government focused on the second group because of their potential to use the SIM cards for fraudulent purposes, which is why the verification period for this group was only 30 days after the deadline was announced on January 16 this year.

With the blocked SIM cards you cannot make outgoing calls or use the Internet.

The NBTC’s move is in line with its recent announcement on measures for identity verification and information on service usage by mobile users, which was enacted via the Royal Gazette earlier this year.

The measures required holders of more than five SIM cards to confirm their identity at customer service centers or through their mobile operators’ apps from January 16 to July 13 this year.

Aside from the SIM card verification measure, Gen Nathathorn said the NBTC is working with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the Banks Association of Thailand to verify 113,568,836 mobile bank accounts of 21 banks.

It turned out that the names of the owners of 80 million mobile phone numbers used to conduct mobile banking transactions did not match the names of the owners of the mobile banking accounts.

The NBTC will instruct mobile operators to verify SIM card holders and their mobile bank account names. The verification process is expected to be completed by the end of September this year.

In addition, the NBTC and the Royal Thai Police have jointly cracked down on illegal telecommunications towers along the country’s borders by shutting down the signal at 465 sites, adjusting the antenna orientation of 470 towers and demolishing antennas at 179 sites. They are confident that this move can eradicate call center gangs and other forms of technology-based crime.

AMLO’s deputy secretary-general, Police Major General Ekarak Limsangkat, said AMLO plans to hold talks with banks to reduce the amount of money transfers through mobile banking channels that require a facial scan to over 20,000 baht per transaction from the current over 50,000 baht per transaction. However, this proposal requires the approval of all banks.

According to the Bank of Thailand’s measures, mobile money transfers of more than 50,000 baht per transaction to local or foreign accounts and transfers of more than 200,000 baht per day will require a face scan on mobile devices. In addition, the limit for credit transfers on mobile devices will be reduced to more than 50,000 baht per transaction.