Verification was designed to protect innocent consumers against fraudulent and fraudulent online activities.

Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said over two million unverified Subscriber Identification Modules (Sim cards) could be misused for criminal offences.

In collaboration with mobile network operators, the regulator is verifying Simcard registration by ensuring the subscribers’ fingerprints match those in the National Identification Authority (NIDA) database.

Reporting on the verification, TCRA manager for telecom and internet management, Sadath Kalolo, said 60,076,000 active Sim cards have been verified, with only 2,061,000 or 4.3 per cent remaining.

TCRA has reiterated the call on non-compliant subscribers to verify their Sim card registration by the end of January this year. It said Unverified Sim cards would be blocked after January 31, 2023.

TCRA director general, Jabiri Bakari, announced the verification early last month, explaining that it was designed to protect innocent consumers against online crimes such as fraud and theft.