Tarana says information on biometric scanned SIM to be available from July 7

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim has said information on all SIM cards verified against NIDs through the biometric system will be available from July 7.

The minister made this disclosure while interacting with the press on Thursday.

Necessary instructions to mobile operators have been sent, she said.

The step has been taken to curb issues of multiple SIM cards against a single identity, often without the knowledge of the client.

Cases involving re-verification of multiple SIM cards against a single NID have been widely reported from Dhaka and Mymensingh recently, prompting police to arrest several people in this connection.

The minister said consumers will enjoy the facility to cancel registrations of SIM cards they find not theirs.

Blaming a lack of awareness of the consumers, she said such fraud has been made possible by collecting biometric fingerprints of the unsuspecting consumers more than once.

She said legal action will be taken against those found guilty.

Asked if telecom and mobile service providers would also be prosecuted if found guilty, she said initial findings point the needle at retailers but added that service providers, too, would not be spared if found guilty.

She said police have already swung into action in such cases at the behest of her ministry and that the actual number of bonafide SIMs could be known with certainty after July 7.