{
  "id": 17902566,
  "title": "Fake SIMS hold SA to ransom",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/fake-sims-hold-sa-to-ransom",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-03T03:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/opinion/fake-sims-hold-sa-to-ransom/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fake SIM cards have become a significant issue for South Africans, contributing to a rise in kidnapping cases. In the first quarter of this year, police recorded 4,638 kidnappings nationwide, with half occurring in Gauteng. Out of these cases, 231 were motivated by ransom demands, often communicated via phone. Families are frequently instructed to pay ransoms of up to R5 million in certain locations. On October 14th, in Villiers, Free State, the family of a 35-year-old man received a ransom call of R3 million just after his carjacking. Despite police's promise of stricter enforcement of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication Related Information Act (RICA) from July 1st, no significant progress has been made as of day 100, with no update on improving Section 40. Poor registration and distribution practices, combined with gaps in Section 40, have resulted in \"pre-RICA\" SIM cards. These cards are registered under false or borrowed identities and can be acquired easily. A private investigator claims that nearly 80% of cellphone numbers he encounters in investigations are either not registered or registered to the wrong person. The government acknowledges this problem but lacks a serious approach to enforcement. There have been only 27 investigations into SIM-related crime since 2020, resulting in just one arrest and no convictions. The police have arrested a suspected unauthorized RICA agent with SIMs from all four major networks, but isolated cases do not reflect overall enforcement efforts. The justice minister has committed to addressing these systemic weaknesses through enhanced enforcement led by the SA Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, and other agencies. However, without transparency and concrete measures, it is difficult to assess actual progress. The state has acknowledged the existence of these issues and aims to finalize a draft legislative proposal for stakeholder engagement by June. Despite this, no amendments have been published as of yet. One proposed solution is to require facial biometric registration with a selfie, liveness test, and ID document matching, followed by checking against a government database. This approach would provide police with a reliable ID to link to a SIM, enhancing security. South Africa recently left the Financial Action Task Force greylist and is currently undergoing a mutual evaluation, with key submissions due this year. The progress on RICA improvements is closely tied to these evaluations. The justice department should publish its Section 40 amendment for public comment before the parliamentary year ends, ending the practice of bulk registration on someone else's behalf. Monthly enforcement figures should be released, detailing investigations opened, arrests made, charges laid, and distributors blacklisted, to send a clear message that widespread non-compliance will not be tolerated.",
  "summary": "Weak SIM registration practices are making it harder for police to trace suspects, while promised reforms remain outstanding.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}