Friday, March 29, 2024

Zamtel to capture facial Biometrics in attempt to improve online safety

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State owned telecommunications company Zamtel says capturing facial biometrics of all mobile phone customers is an important step towards the prevention of mobile fraud.

Giving an update on the ongoing sim card verification exercise, Zamtel Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations Reuben Kamanga stressed that with growing reports of online fraud, having one’s sim details verified is a sure step towards curbing such cases.

Mr Kamanga said Zamtel is re-verifying customer details at all its outlets or activation point in accordance with ZICTA regulations to prevent mobile fraud.

He warned that customers that will fail to comply with the ZITA directive will have their mobile numbers switched off by March 31st 2020.

Mr Kamanga said even those customers whose sim card details are inaccurate or incompletely registered should have their details verified or risk being deactivated.

He said Zamtel is offering an incentive to the affected customers of 1GB free data and/or 50 minutes free for onnet calls for updating their details.

Mr Kamanga said it is imperative that all customers with unverified details do so before end of March to avoid the inconvenience of losing their mobile phone service.

He stated that failure to register or verify the sim details is a breach of the law adding that Zamtel shall not provide any communication service to a person who fails or refuses to comply.

“The deadline is March 31st and it will be enforced at midnight. This is therefore to confirm that the deadline stands and all unregistered, unverified and un-validated SIM cards will be switched off. In other words, the holders of those cards will not be able to receive or make calls,”Mr Kamanga said.

He said customers can contact Zamtel Care Centre or activation points to know the status of their number.

“While mobile phone telecommunication is one of the most commonly used method of communication among citizens and has greatly revolutionized the way businesses are run, negative elements have also taken advantage of the same means of communication to plan, coordinate, finance and execute their criminal activities with ease,” he said.

He added, “The practice for the criminals has been to acquire new sim cards that either are unregistered in any names or fraudulently registered with wrong and falsified identities for use in the execution of their criminal operations and thereafter discard them so that they are not traced.”

Mr Kamanga reiterated that the sustainable solution to this criminality is to ensure that all sim cards and their users are properly registered using the correct identities.

“I am happy to report that good progress has been registered with many customers responding positively and as we approach the deadline of March 31st, our call is for all of our customers to comply.”

15 COMMENTS

  1. Here we go again…as if the dont have SIM registration which has not prevented any mobile frauds now they want to make a case for capturing more details using Chinese technology which they have no control over.

  2. This is suspicious I don’t trust PF government they just want to use that to monitor citizens activity. PF is a failed government

  3. Which Data Protection laws is Zamtel using to protect this very sensitive data from individuals? I would rather have no mobile phone in the interim until satisfactory evidence of safeguards are approved by parliament or aligned to the General Data Protection Regulations (DDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant acts like the Records Management Acting including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

    God bless Zambia.

  4. it’s lazy investigation wings in the country
    it’s not a provider’s responsibility to catch criminals, it’s law enforcement
    there are lots of pending investigations to various crimes that have been committed in Zambia… Soweto mkt… and other fires, what has that got to do with sim registration?
    this’ a Chinese technology that was rejected in kenya now because of the weak z ambian pf they accept without even understanding the ramifications. that’s a violation of people’s privacy, that’s applicable in socialist china and nowhere else. Zambians should reject this and not accept any bribes of data, data will be used up while your face will be in the system and you’ll be watched like a hawk!

  5. I remember posting on LT 10 years ago about against SIM registration I said govt was just being lazy …fraudsters haven’t discouraged because it, now this govt wants to infringe on your rights and capture your details whilst online as its social media PF is targeting.

  6. mukolwe – the Chinks will have your details like a farmer has the details of his cattle and this dull President will sign it off.

  7. You have just lost one, what a bam bam, bambam bilo bambam what bambam, re verification for what, am packing your sim for good. ADIOS AMIGOS.

  8. Hogwash!
    Biometrics?
    That’s way too much information to a telecom company or Zicta.
    Tell us you want that info for security wings.
    Do you even have the capacity to secure that information?
    Not every jim and jack must have access to information about every Zambian.
    Don’t be f00ls, you will lose a good number of subscribers if you don’t trade carefully.
    Citizens have a right to privacy mind you?

  9. Please ensure that these devices capture even the darkest of complexions as this technology has been known to falter when it comes to darker tones.

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