The junta Department of Communications have set about deactivating accounts of SIM card holders in Myanmar whose registrations mismatch databases provided by the Ministry of Immigration and Population.
A cut off deadline was set for 31 January 2023, encouraging account users to check if their registration information was correct to prevent fraudulent activities and unsafe financial transactions.
When registering a SIM card users must supply their full name, Citizenship Scrutiny Card or National Registration Card number and clear photographs.
In 2020, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications reported closing 34 million SIM card accounts due to poor registrations, retracting physical SIM cards after the June 30 deadline was set.
SIM cards hold identifiable data relating to any individual holder to safeguard physical as well as digital and financial security.
Out of a total circulation of 23 million registered SIMs, 6.3 million cards were deactivated in the same year (2020).
