03 July 2024

Cambodia’s telecoms regulator has warned SIM card vendors and mobile operators to stop activating unregistered SIM cards or face prosecution.

The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) gave the order after finding that some ‘illicit’ mobile operators have been activating mobile phone numbers for customers without obtaining the customer’s subscriber identity information and supporting documents. The TRC also said that some SIM vendors have been renting SIM cards that are being used to fraudulently create bank accounts and social media profiles, among other illegal activities.

Such practices are in violation of a law enacted in February 2023 under which all devices using SIM cards must be registered in a national database established by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC). The TRC also said that if SIM vendors activate unregistered SIMs (or SIMs registered with falsified documents) that are later used to commit crimes, the vendors can be held legally liable for colluding with criminals.

The TRC ordered telcos and SIM vendors to immediately stop selling and distributing SIM cards without collecting and verifying subscriber ID documents. The telcos were also ordered to contact all subscribers using either unregistered SIMs or multiple SIMs under a single identity registration, and collect the required ID documents. Failing that, telcos have been ordered to deactivate all numbers without proper ID documentation.