Ongoing circulation of millions of incorrectly registered SIM cards has been found to be a major driver of crime.
A call to action has been made, urging justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to address shortcomings related to SIM card registration and enforcement of the law that governs communications.
This comes amid growing concerns that weaknesses in SIM card registration processes are undermining national security efforts and enable organised crime.
In South Africa, the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA) requires the details of all telecommunication users to be registered. It aims to assist law enforcement agencies in tracking criminals that are using telecoms services for illegal activities.
Despite the provisions of RICA, millions of SIM cards remain either unregistered or registered with incorrect or unverifiable information, admits the justice department.
This challenge saw the minister recently convene a meeting with representatives from government, particularly ministers and directors-general within the justice, crime prevention and security cluster, as well as telco CEOs, regulators, licensees and other interested stakeholders.
At the meeting, the officials noted that RICA, in its current form, would benefit from review and strengthening to respond to evolving criminal trends and technological advancements.
The need to undertake an audit of the existing SIM card database to identify and address instances of non-compliance was also proposed, according to a department statement.
Stakeholders also expressed support for a comprehensive and consultative process to ensure the legislation remains effective, practical and responsive to current realities.
Ahead of the department’s budget vote today, Securi-Tech SA, which provides SIM card encoding and personalisation, has asked the minister to outline the steps her department will be taking on RICA enforcement.
“We urge the minister to use the upcoming budget vote, or to soon reinforce the government’s commitment to a safer South Africa by taking actionable steps towards the enforcement of RICA and the registration of SIM cards and proposing a clampdown on abuse by distributors,” says Alex Evan, Securi-Tech SA executive.
“Large-scale SIM card distributors should not be allowed to incorrectly register millions of SIM cards before sale, resulting in a situation where nearly every prepaid SIM card is untraceable. SIM cards should also be properly secured and packaged to stop pre-registration.”
RICA’s might has also been questioned, amid escalating SIM swap fraud, with criminals posing as legitimate cellphone account-holders by using fake identity documents.
Illegal SIM cards often lead to identity theft and unauthorised access to sensitive information, resulting in monetary loss and privacy breaches for victims.
The Communications Risk Information Centre’s 2025 Telecommunications Sector Report revealed that telecoms fraud costs the country more than R5.3 billion a year, with close to 60% of mobile banking fraud linked to SIM-swap attacks.
This has resulted in growing calls for biometric SIM registration, with Parliament asked to consider changing RICA to enforce biometric SIM card registration for all SIM cards, including prepaid cards.
