Of 120m SIM cards, only 58% registrations match owners’ data
NBTC says no registration information available about 21 million SIM cards
Of the 120 million mobile phone SIM cards used in Thailand, more than half are registered under names matching that of the actual owners, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said on Wednesday.
A total of 70.52 million, or 58%, are under names of the actual owners, however, around 28 million SIM cards have been registered under names different from that of their actual owners, while no registration information is available regarding 21 million cards, Pol General Nathathorn Prousoontorn, an NBTC commissioner for legal affairs, said.
The NBTC’s findings came after a policy of the Digital Economy and Society Ministry became effective on January 16, requiring anyone registered as owning six SIM cards and more in their name to verify their ownership with the relevant service providers.
The policy aims to tackle online scams using mobile phones by putting a curb on “ghost SIMs” – unregistered or illegally registered mobile phone numbers often used by criminals to commit fraud.
Nathathorn said the NBTC had forwarded the findings to the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), so it could investigate the SIM cards with mismatched ownership and those without registration information.
Using this information, the AMLO would also work with financial institutions to track down “mule accounts” – bank accounts opened by individuals, either voluntarily or being scammed into doing so, and then used by criminals to launder money.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong had said that users of some 18 million bank accounts were subject to in-depth inspection and might have to verify their identity again, as these accounts had been registered under different names than the associated SIM cards.
