The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided to use Live Finger Detection (LFD) devices to rein in the prevalent practice of issuing fake SIM cards using stolen finger impressions.
For the unversed, an LFD device accurately checks whether a fingerprint is real and taken from an individual present at the point of capture or fake and taken through illegal means.
Speaking in this regard, a spokesperson for the PTA said that the authority has decided to use LFD devices for the issuance of SIMs in view of the exponentially rising number of fake SIMs.
With the introduction of LFD devices, the issue of fake SIMs will be done away with as it poses a massive challenge to PTA, NADRA, and FIA because such SIMs can’t be traced to actual owners.
PTA had launched a SIM ownership verification system in 2008 which uses biometric devices for verification purposes. Under the policy, citizens are required to provide thumb impressions as well as original CNICs to obtain new SIMs.
There are more than 300,000 PTA-authorized biometric devices all over the country which will now be replaced with LFD devices for issuing new SIMs. The new devices will be introduced in major cities in the first phase and in the rest of the country in the second phase.
According to an official estimate, there are more than 0.7 million active fake SIMs in the country that have been issued using fingerprints stolen through different illicit means.
Out of the 0.7 million fake SIMs, 0.58 million SIMs have been issued using fingerprints of deceased people while the remaining have been issued by fingerprints stolen from voter lists, B-forms, identity cards, and documents from the union councils in collusion with the concerned staff.
