TRAI amends new MNP regulations to curb fraudulent SIM swap activities

TRAI amends new MNP regulations to curb fraudulent SIM swap activities

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has amended new regulations related to SIM porting, also known as Mobile Number Portability (MNP), to reduce and prevent fraudulent SIM swap activities. Under the new guideline, which will come into effect from July 1, users have to wait for a period of seven days to be eligible for porting from one network to another post-SIM swap or replacement of the mobile number.

Press Release No. 13/2024 regarding TRAI Releases Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth amendment) Regulations, 2024https://t.co/Gd7jWT6Upq

— TRAI (@TRAI) March 15, 2024

The ninth amendment by TRAI has been introduced to prevent fraudulent SIM porting activities in response to a letter from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which stated: “It has come to the notice that mobile connections are being fraudulently ported out by the criminals/fraudsters by way of fraudulent SIM Swaps/replacement (instructions dated 01.08.2016 as enclosed may kindly be referred).”

This applies to users who have lost their original SIM card and applied for a replacement, where a user has to wait for seven days before they become eligible for networking porting. However, if a user is upgrading the SIM card (from 3G to 4G/5G), there is no restriction when it comes to porting, as the same is authorised by the user using a one-time password (OTP). SIM porting or MNP allows users to switch between different network providers without changing the phone number.

Back in 2023, TRAI implemented additional security features while porting the SIM, which required the transfer of Customer Application Form (CAF)/digital CAF from the donor operator to the recipient operator, and those demographic details mentioned on the CAF should also match the details shared by the user. Already existing guidelines such as the sharing of a Unique Porting Code (UPC) and verification of the same by the recipient operator, and there should not be any outstanding dues while applying for SIM porting or MNP.

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