The state is pondering amending the SIM card registration law so that people cannot get away with buying cards that are in other people's - or companies' - names. This comes amid an ongoing probe into the sale of pre-registered SIM cards.
Under the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act - commonly shortened to RICA - it is not an offence to own a SIM card that has not been registered.
However, it is an offence to not transfer the SIM into your own name if you have bought, or been given, a SIM that is already registered. This is where the law falls down, because mobile network operators cannot practically police the situation, and address detail requirements are easily circumvented.
Clamping down
The practice of preregistered SIM cards being circulated is rife in SA; anecdotal evidence indicates many small shops sell cards for about R20, a practice ITWeb successfully checked.
The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is aware people who sell SIMs do not always get accurate consumer details, or verify information, and that activated SIM cards are being passed down without operators being informed.
Paul Ramaloko, Hawks spokesman, says the elite force is involved in a pre-RICA SIM card probe, which involves thousands of cards that have been sold already registered. He says the year-old investigation targeting "dodgy" shops, which is nowhere near conclusion, has yet to yield any arrests.
The probe is "to try and check who is behind this activity", says Ramaloko, noting the Hawks believe a syndicate is involved. He says pre RICAed SIMs are used by criminals, who use the phones in the commission of a crime and then dispose of the card.
Not doable
Ramaloko notes while SIM cards must be RICAed on sale, it is not an offence to have a card that has already been through the process, although the person acquiring it must update the details.
According to the department, operators must verify customers' details, and record and verify details when SIM cards are transferred, or face a R100 000 fine for every day the incorrect details are on the database. People who transfer SIM cards to non-family members, without telling operators, face 12 months in jail.
Vodacom spokesman Richard Boorman says the operator complies with the law in that agents who sell its SIM cards are verifying details, but argues, "there is no requirement, nor would it be practically possible, for operators to run a secondary check of the address information as no national address database exists to run such a check".
MTN SA chief consumer sales and distribution officer Farhad Khan says ensuring compliance with the change of ownership requirements "requires the full support and co-operation not only of the network operators, but also of the law enforcement agencies, the distributors of starter packs and of customers themselves".
Dominic Cull, owner of Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says it is very easy to go around the registration process, and inadequacies around the process must be resolved. The department says it could consider further amendments to RICA if law enforcement is prejudicially affected in any manner, including through the recording of incorrect information.
Not all bad
However, other aspects of the law have proven successful in clamping down on crime. Ramaloko notes the lack of correct address details does not hamper investigation because the rest of the Act allows for interception, which means calls and locations can be traced, and links can be made between different people who call each other often.
Vodacom's chief risk officer Johan van Graan notes the comfort RICA gives is that interception and providing information around cellular use is regulated, and this information negates false data on databases.
Cull says, however, RICA also covers fixed and voice services and requires Internet service providers to be compliant. Smaller operators do not have the technology to enable interception, which makes the registration database critical when law enforcement officials require assistance in combating crime, he notes.
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