TCRA deactivates over 12,890 SIM cards

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has deactivated and blacklisted a total of 12,896 SIM cards due to various fraudulent activities, including online crimes and scams over the last three months.

TCRA Director General, Dr Jabiri Bakari, revealed the figures in a sector performance report in Dar es Salaam yesterday, noting a 19 per cent decrease in phone fraud incidents.

The number of blacklisted SIM cards dropped from 16,002 between July and September last year to 12,896 between October and December of the same year, a reduction of 3,106 phone lines.

Dr Bakari said that Rukwa Region was the hardest hit, with 5,305 reported fraudulent incidents, followed by Morogoro (4,278), Mbeya (930), Dar es Salaam (765), Katavi (281), Arusha (260), Songwe (150), Mwanza (132) and Tabora (122) attempts.

The report also indicated that fraudulent attempts on specific mobile networks had increased.

Fraudulent activities involving Halotel, TTCL and Airtel rose by 6 per cent, 12 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.

However, attempts involving Yas and Vodacom saw significant decreases, with a 75 per cent drop for Yas and a 9 per cent decrease for Vodacom.

Some regions, especially in Zanzibar, reported very few fraudulent attempts, such as North Pemba (1), South Pemba (2), Urban West (1.5), North Unguja (5) and South Unguja (5).

Dr Bakari emphasised the importance of safe mobile phone usage for the country’s sustainable growth and improved living standards.

“The TCRA continues to successfully monitor and identify fraudulent phone calls entering the country, implementing appropriate measures to reduce the number of reported incidents,” he said.

“This decrease reflects the government’s commitment to combating such criminal activities.” Dr Bakari also praised the efforts of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and Ministry of Home Affairs that recently hosted a stakeholders’ meeting at Mawasiliano Towers in Dar es Salaam.

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The meeting was attended by representatives from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), media officers and CEOs from mobile service providers such as TTCL, Airtel, Vodacom, Yas and Halotel. Strategies to combat fraud were discussed at the meeting.

“TCRA is also focused on preventing the use of stolen, lost, or damaged phones, as well as counterfeit or substandard handsets,” Dr Bakari said.

“Our mitigation efforts help identify and deactivate duplicate International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, as well as those associated with fraudulent activities or reported as lost or stolen.”

Furthermore, Dr Bakari noted that the TCRA continues to educate the public on the safe and proper use of mobile phone services to protect users from online scams.

He reiterated the importance of public vigilance and encouraged citizens to report any suspicious calls or text messages.