Telcos have been directed to clean up their records and verify the identity of prepaid number owners. This comes as a directive from the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission, which is looking to clamp down on spam and other unsolicited text messages.
Some 1.6 millions prepaid subscribers were found to have details not matching their NRID numbers in a recent data verification exercise. It is these individuals that will be contacted by their respective telcos to clear up the matter; and failure to do so will result in the line being terminated.
“We found the particulars given to the telcos did not match NRD records,” MCMC Network Security and Enforcement sector chief officer Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin told The Star.
The MCMC requires the registration of all prepaid accounts, with individuals being limited to owning a maximum of five numbers. The limitation is ostensibly to reduce incidents of identity theft, and reduce the spread of scams through text messages.
This identity verification exercise will be rolled out in stages over the next few weeks; with the entire programme set to run until January next year. Those that fail to respond to the notification for verification will see their lines terminated by that time will see their accounts terminated.
[Source: The Star]
