By:Leakey Kaxwadi
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) says that it has reduced fraud through phones by 80% since it started collecting biometric data when registering SIM cards last year.
The company came under fire from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which questioned the legality of how MTC registers SIM cards, particularly the collection of biometric data and taking pictures of customers.
MTC’s human capital and corporate affairs officer Tim Ekandjo, said on Tuesday the extension of registering SIM cards with facial and biometric data aims to combat cybercrime, fraud and protect their business and its customers.
Ekandjo added the protection includes online scams, digital extortion, business email compromises, ransomware (malware designed to deny user access to company documents) and botnets (compromised machines used to automate large-scale campaigns).
“We have so many customers that defrauded MTC, not only MTC but maybe other businesses as well by coming in with false identification documents and there is no way you can verify it, even if one comes in and says ‘here is my ID’,” Ekandjosaid.
He said information obtained via verification will not be shared with any other operator or institution and will remain confidential.
He further said the consent of the customer is required as per the draft Namibia Data Protection Bill, AU Convention on Cybercrime and Personal Data Protection, and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Since we implemented verification as part of SIM card registration, we have reduced fraudulent activities by at least 80%,” he said.
He pointed out that although the regulator said that the registration of SIM cards doesnot require facial recognition and biometric data, it is not illegal to do so as it extends the protection of the business and its customers.
Last year, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) announced that unregistered SIMcards will be deactivated after 31 December 2023.
Ekandjo said their “MTC verify” initiative is a “know-your-customer” tool, which creates a digital customer identity, whereby it involves the collection of biometrics data and protects their business and their customers.
Ekandjo further noted MTC managed to register 965235 SIM cards so far, and that all SIM cards not registered by 1 January 2024 will be terminated.
Other African countries have already published biometric regulations like Ghana, Lesotho, Tanzania and now South Africa.