Russian mobile phone service providers have started sending SMS and push notifications to their subscribers requesting them to verify their personal data by visiting a communication salon or logging into the State Service application. According to Kommersant, this measure is put in place in anticipation of an upcoming check by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) aimed at curbing the use of gray SIM cards in May 2022.
The operators estimate that up to 20 million active subscribers may have unconfirmed data on the market. The companies fear that if these SIM cards are disconnected, it may cause them a monthly loss of up to RUB 7 billion.
Roskomnadzor confirmed that it is monitoring the reliability of information about subscribers entered by operators in the database to combat the use of illegal SIM cards. An information system has been developed to identify inaccurate information about operators automatically. If there is any discrepancy in the information about the subscriber, the operator must clarify or stop providing services to the subscriber. Roskomnadzor has seized more than 423,000 gray SIM cards since 2018, of which 152,000 were detected this year. The seizures occurred during events in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
MTS, Megafon, Vimpelcom, and Tele2, assured their customers that they are meeting the legal requirements and are regularly updating subscribers’ data.