The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued an advisory to prevent the issuance of fraudulent SIM cards.
In its guidelines, the PTA urged citizens not to obtain free SIMs from street corners or markets, advising instead that new SIM cards should only be purchased from official customer service centres or authorised franchises of mobile companies.
The authority also stressed that individuals must ensure that no SIM is registered against their national identity card without their consent.
The PTA warned against undergoing biometric verification in exchange for free SIM offers, noting that such practices could lead to additional SIMs being fraudulently issued in a person’s name.
It further advised the public to immediately block any extra or unused SIM cards registered under their identity.
