Central Bank wants to tighten SIM re-issues to curb banking frauds

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is currently in discussions with telecom operators over SIM re-issues to curb mobile banking frauds. These discussions primarily revolve around getting the telecom operators to tighten their processes to ensure that the numbers will only be issued to the real owners.

While ID verification is technically required when acquiring SIMs, actual enforcement is often lacking. This has opened up opportunities for malicious actors to hijack SIMs and commit banking fraud.

Mobile-associated scams have been ramping up as of late on the island and authorities are looking to tighten SIM re-issue processes in hopes of cutting back on some of these efforts.