TRA warns people who buy mobile phone SIM cards for others in Oman

Energy Tuesday 23/August/2016 21:15 PM
By: Times News Service
TRA warns people who buy mobile phone SIM cards for others in Oman

Muscat: People who buy mobile phone sim cards to give to others are liable for the numbers registered to them, the TRA has warned.
People leaving the country for good should cancel their SIM card before leaving so that it cannot be misused, the official said.
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Speaking to the Times of Oman, Hilal Al Siyabi, media and events manager at TRA, said mobile subscribers in the Sultanate should be responsible for their own SIM cards and bear all the consequences in case any of them is misused. “TRA wants to educate subscribers in Oman that they need to protect themselves from abuse, identity theft, and the legal and financial implications of parting with one’s SIM,” he stressed.
This is being done to curb the phenomenon of using new mobile phone numbers and leaving them for others to use.
He also said that the “My Number, My Identity” campaign, which TRA has launched, is also producing good results. “The campaign was launched in collaboration with leading telecom operators to increase awareness following a growing number of complaints about fake IDs, impersonation and other forms of abuse related to SIM cards. The campaign will educate mobile users to use registered and identified SIM cards only. Users should also understand the legal liability, which may arise from them giving their SIM cards to others. Fake SIM cards might be used to disturb others,” Al Siyabi explained.
“The goal of the campaign is to spread awareness among users of telecom devices on not using, selling or transferring phone numbers that are not registered under their names, avoid transferring numbers to other users when leaving the Sultanate, and striving to uphold the number allocation policy,” he added. Al Siyabi also cautioned subscribers who leave the country or switch to another service to cancel their SIM card’s registration with the service provider.
Regarding the maximum number of SIM cards allowed per subscriber in the Oman, he said mobile users can subscribe to up to 10 SIM cards per operator, but they should use them responsibly.
“The mobile subscribers’ role is to protect their SIM cards and to maintain their privacy; these should not be given to other users to avoid any misuse that may occur since the registered owner of the number will be legally and financially accountable,” Al Siyabi reiterated.