Over 72,000 scammers’ Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards containing more than K800,000 have been barred.
According to Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) manager consumer protection Edgar Mlauzi, the alleged scammers were barred from October last year to date.
Mr Mlauzi said ZICTA has partnered with stakeholders to put in place a mechanism of refunding money to victims where it is established that the number is cleared.
“From October 2022 when we launched the *707# to September, we have seen that there has been a success, with over 72,150 numbers having been barred with balances of over K844,000,” he said.
“After detecting that some SIM cards were used by scammers, the authority decided to de-activate them, but we are looking at possibilities where suspected scammers whose numbers were blocked can get their balances on the SIM cards after being cleared. This will encourage consumer confidence.”
ZICTA is in the process of introducing an agent curriculum certification programme to mitigate possible risks consumers could face.
He said the authority is also working with stakeholders such as Bank of Zambia, mobile agents associations and service providers to come up with an entry level certification for mobile money agents.
Credit: Zambia Daily Mail