Can a mobile phone that has been registered under the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (RICA) be traced?
According to Swift Consulting CEO and tech blogger Liron Segev, RICA is about the SIM card and not the physical phone. This means that when a SIM card is used in another mobile phone, it can be traced. Segev adds that the RICA process has raised concerns, with many questioning if this information is being used for its intended purpose.
"My concern with RICA is that it is meant to make it harder for criminals to use prepaid SIM cards in crimes, however, you can just order prepaid SIM cards from overseas that you don't have to RICA and are 100% legal," he says.
RICA came into effect in 2009 with the aim of tracking down criminals who may have used mobile phones during criminal activities.
"Don't forget we get tourists who come to SA with their mobile phones and these are used here with no problem and without being RICAed," he notes.
It's a scam!
SMSes doing the rounds claiming mobile phone users have won millions from RICA are probably a scam, Segev cautions. "People should ignore such messages. In fact, ignore all messages saying you have won unless you have specifically entered a competition," he adds.
According to Segev, there's nothing as easy as creating a cell number database, adding that companies harvest numbers all the time from the Web or buy databases that are already available.
"To create your own database is simple, as you know that cell numbers are made up of 10 digits, so you can create a program to randomly create 10-digit numbers starting with 082, 083, etc," he says. He adds that if someone gets a suspicious message, they should do a Google search with the content of the message to see if others have reported it as a scam. Consumers can also get in touch with their service providers for assistance.
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