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- Disconnect from the rules: Russians will be able to set a ban on buying SIM cards without their presence
Disconnect from the rules: Russians will be able to set a ban on buying SIM cards without their presence
Russians will be able to set a ban on the purchase of SIM cards on their behalf without personal presence. The Ministry of Communications has prepared such amendments to the law "On Communications". If they are adopted, attackers will not be able to purchase a SIM-card in the name of an unsuspecting subscriber using a forged power of attorney and compromised passport data and use it for criminal purposes, experts point out. In addition, Russia is introducing restrictions on the sale of SIM-cards in one hand, and the subscriber, whose limit for the purchase of numbers chosen by fraudsters, may be left with nothing, they add.
Why do you need a self-imposed ban on buying SIM cards?
Russians and foreigners will be able to set a ban on the conclusion on their behalf of contracts with Russian cellular operators without personal presence. This follows from the draft amendments, including to the law "On Communications", prepared by the Ministry of Digital. It was familiarized with "Izvestia". The Ministry is now coordinating the amendments along with adjustments to other legislative acts with other agencies, it follows from the accompanying materials to the document.
"Currently, the problem of using networks and means of communication for criminal purposes remains relevant. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, only in the first seven months of 2024, the number of such crimes increased by 21% compared to the same period of 2023 - up to 202 thousand cases. At the same time, the share of criminal cases on crimes in the field of computer information, in which the investigation is suspended due to the impossibility of identifying the accused, is consistently high," reads the explanatory note to the bill.
According to the idea of the developers of the document, a self-imposed ban on the conclusion of contracts with operators can be set through the portal "Gosusgosluzhby", as well as in MFC. The ban can only be lifted by a personal visit to this institution, the bill states.
The planned adjustments are part of a package of legislative measures to combat digital fraud, the document says. Earlier, amendments to the law "On Communications" have already been adopted, the Ministry of Digital Fraud noted. From January 1, 2025, the rules for buying SIM cards for foreigners became stricter.
- Now regulated the number of contracts issued for one person, payment for communication services in cash is possible only with proof of identity. In the near future, "Gosuslugi" will launch a service to inform subscribers about all the contracts and numbers that are registered to them. Thanks to this, it will be practically impossible to sign a communication contract for another person and act on his behalf," the press service of the Ministry said.
They added that together with other agencies and the industry, the Ministry is working on a set of measures to reduce and prevent cyber fraud, but it is premature to talk about the details.
The trend towards digitalization of society, business and the state leads to the fact that fraudsters who have access to a person's phone number have more and more opportunities to commit offenses, believes Sergei Polovnikov, head of the Content-Review project. According to him, the bill is relevant in light of the recently introduced limit on the connection of one Russian not more than 20 numbers at a time. If someone bought a SIM card using a forged power of attorney, which contains the user's passport data from leaked databases, and chose the limit, a law-abiding subscriber may lose the opportunity to buy a new SIM card, he warned.
- It would be reasonable to extend this rule to any actions with SIM-cards made without the presence and knowledge of the subscriber, for example, their replacement by power of attorney. The practice of using forged powers of attorney leads to the fact that attackers get in the showroom SIM-card unsuspecting user, and together with it- access to his accounts in social networks, messengers, banking applications,- said the expert.
Itwould be logical to include a ban on SIM-card replacement without the personal presence of the subscriber in the bylaws, he believes.
Data on the bans introduced on "Gosusluzhi" could be transmitted to operators through a special database, access to which will have employees in salons, said Sergei Polovnikov. If they see that someone wants to buy a SIM-card by proxy in the presence of a ban, the sale will be denied, he explained.
Will the new rules for issuing SIM-cards help in the fight against fraudsters?
Theproblem of SIM card theft (hijacking) in Russia has existed for years, said ComNews Research partner Leonid Konik. There are no public statistics on it, but security market experts estimate the number of such hijackings at 300-1200 cases every month, he said.
- Having received a new SIM card (including eSIM) under a forged power of attorney, a fraudster can easily gain access to the victim's messengers. Banking services are more complicated: they require two-factor identification, with the first step being password entry. And in the case of using the bank's mobile application, it will also react to an attempt to log in from a new device," the expert added.
In addition, for several years, cellular operators do not allow SMS from banks on a new SIM card in the first day after its release to protect the client from fraudsters, but the subscriber may not react for a day, especially if he is abroad, adds Leonid Konik.
Vimpelcom believes that such measures should be as accessible and convenient for end users as possible. Therefore, they already offer their customers a free service to protect against unauthorized SIM replacement.
- It includes two-factor authentication and notifications of SIM replacement attempts, which makes the process fully transparent and under the control of the user," the company said.
MTS noted that the law has already been adopted, which significantly tightened the order of SIM-card sales, and the rules of communication services have been finalized.
- Now any subscriber will be given an opportunity to find out through "Gosuservices" how many subscriber numbers he has, at which telecom operators, as well as the right to cancel the use of numbers. Limits on the number of SIM-cards for Russians (20) and foreigners (10) have been introduced. Taking into account the measures already taken, the additional introduction of self-prohibition looks redundant," the company believes.
Megafon supports this proposal, but believes that its implementation requires discussion and detailed elaboration so that the innovations do not lead to inconvenience to consumers of communication services.
Customers of t2 can set a proxy service ban, which guarantees protection from possible manipulations with SIM card replacement, said Daria Kolesnikova, the operator's representative. The proposed regulation concerns only new connections, she emphasized. The bill may prevent the type of fraud with SIM card issuance by proxy, but more likely in the case if the fraudster has not gained access to ESIA with the help of social engineering, she believes.
SIM card hijacking is still an actual fraud scheme, Darya Kolesnikova admits. That is why company employees, for example, when replacing SIM in retail by power of attorney, check its issuance on the official website of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, she claims.
The current regulation in the sphere of communication services, unfortunately, does not exclude the registration of SIM-cards on individuals without their knowledge and consent, said Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative (PCI). This leads to mass violations and entails many risks both for the citizens themselves and for public safety, as such SIM cards are used not only for identity theft and financial fraud, but also for committing other socially dangerous crimes, he added.
- Providing citizens with the opportunity to block the conclusion of contracts for communication services without personal presence at the technical level will help prevent such situations and significantly increase the level of consumer protection," the expert believes.
There is a scheme in which the contract is concluded through the mediation of an authorized person, i.e. an agent, who collects information from the subscriber and then passes it on to the operator, said Daniil Chernykh-Aipov, deputy chairman of the Sulim and Partners panel.
- This method has long been criticized by the prosecutor's office, since it is through agents that the lion's share of contracts for the provision of communication services is concluded, which are subsequently used for illegal and criminal purposes. The reason for this is quite simple: operators are interested in increasing the number of subscribers, so agency contracts are concluded on a mass scale. However, checking the integrity and law-abidingness of agents requires a high expenditure of resources on the part of operators," says the lawyer.
The proposed measure, in fact, blocks the possibility of using such schemes: without personal appearance to confirm the desire to conclude a contract with the operator, the subscriber will not be able to do so. For fraudsters, bypassing this obstacle looks too costly, he believes. Nevertheless, the expert is not sure that a significant part of citizens will use their right to set up such a blockage.
