The Zambian government has disconnected over 2 million mobile SIM cards as part of a sting operation organized by the Zambian Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA). The operation was part of the Southern Afrikan country's continuous attempts to address rising amounts of digital fraud.
The SIM cards that have been deactivated belong to customers who have more than 10 SIM cards registered under one identity number, which the authorities believe are being used to perpetrate fraud.
ZICTA Consumer Protection and Compliance Manager, Edgah Mulauzi, has said that by ensuring digital transformation through the proper use of ICTs, the authority is working tirelessly against digital fraudsters.
“The authority has received a number of complaints from people who have been defrauded but assured that ZICTA is doing everything possible to address the situation, “ said Mulauzi.
Increasing digital fraud
According to INTERPOL's 2021 African Cyber Threat Report, the continent recorded 679 million e-mail threat detections, 8.2 million file threat detections, and 14.3 million online threat detections. Kenya had a total of 72 million threat detections, according to the report.
These threat detections are concerning, given the fast adoption of digital financial services in Zambia, with mobile money transactions jumping by 113% from K49.6 billion in 2019 to K105.6 billion by the end of last year.
— By Bataung Qhotsokoane
