Ukrainians may be obliged to bind their SIM-cards to passports . We are talking about phone numbers connected to bank cards.
This was initiated by the Servant of the People party. Currently, a sociological study of the perception of the corresponding innovation by citizens is being carried out.
This was stated by a representative of the presidential party and deputy chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Digital Transformation Alexander Fedienko … According to the People's Deputy, the initiative is aimed at protecting Ukrainians and combating fraud.
Why the transition to contract number service is needed, does it really increase security and who does not benefit from it, we figured out ICTV Facts.
Binding a number to a passport: why you need it
Switching to a contract with a mobile operator will help protect the bank accounts of Ukrainians, because they are all tied to telephone numbers.
As People's Deputy Alexander Fedienko explained, if fraudsters get hold of a person's SIM card and carry out certain frauds, he will turn to the cyber police, law enforcement officers – to the bank, and the bank – to the telecom operator.
But in the end, the operator will not be able to provide information, if the card is not issued under a contract, that is, it is a draw .
According to one of the fraudulent schemes, attackers call the operator, give the victim's number, posing as their own, and ask to block from -for the alleged loss.
To do this, the operator asks to name the digits of the phone numbers from which the calls were last made. Fraudsters can deliberately call from their numbers and give the numbers.
The operator blocks the number, after which the fraudsters can gain access to Internet banking and seize the funds of a person.
However, if the number is tied to the passport, this will not be possible . In this case, to reissue a SIM card, a person must come to the department with documents.
“Fraudsters use social engineering to steal such numbers and then steal money from the bank account. The bill aims to suspend all of this, & # 8212; says the people's deputy.
According to Fedienko, if a person plans to use a phone number for financial transactions and digital services, it must be linked to the passport .
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& # 8212; If, for example, you want to use a phone number that will later be used for financial transactions or to receive digital services, electronic digital signatures, then this number must have a contract with a mobile operator so that any fraudster cannot steal it from you.
People's Deputy stressed that switching to a contract with a telecom operator will not affect the cost of services .
Facts ICTV asked lawyer Ivan Lieberman for a comment. In general, the expert evaluates the initiative positively and believes that it should have been introduced 10 years ago .
In his opinion, the authorities need to warn citizens in advance about the transition to contractual services, and then disable those who have not linked their number to their passport .
& # 8212; As for the passport data themselves – it is necessary to warn everyone who does not have a binding of valid phone numbers to passport data & # 8230; Allow time for them to register their numbers so that this can technically be done.
Who does not like this
Once the initiative is in place, it will be more difficult for phone scammers to activity . They will not be able to change SIM cards like socks, as they do now.
Linking a number to a passport will help reduce the amount of spam , unwanted calls from collectors and from unknown numbers, when citizens are offered to purchase something or take a survey.
Accordingly, the organizers and participants of fraudulent schemes and certain facilities.
Lawyer Ivan Lieberman is convinced that the level of criminality and telephone fraud will decrease .
– It is absolutely appropriate, correct, constructive, reduces criminality and telephone fraud, and the like. This will also put things in order in the digitalization itself, because there will be a binding of numbers to specific passport data & # 8230; This so-called SMS and telephone underworld will decrease a little, definitely, I would say, even at times.
The transition to contractual services can also play against the officials and officials who are involved in corruption schemes, because by fixing the calls it will be possible to expose their illegal activities.
Will they be spying on us?
< p> Among the opponents of the initiative, the main argument is that linking the number to the passport violates the citizens' right to privacy , supposedly in this way special services can monitor people.
People's Deputy from Servant of the People Alexander Fedienko denied these fears. According to him, users themselves openly disseminate information about themselves on social networks.
& # 8212; 20 years ago, it might have been so, but now we have entered a phase of the digital society where there is no need for special services to track your mobile phone at all. Because, as a rule, society writes about itself on Facebook, Instagram and any messengers.
This position was also expressed by the lawyer Ivan Lieberman. According to him, law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear .
& # 8212; It doesn't break anything. A person who lives and works officially or just lives has nothing to fear. And those businessmen who live in & # 8220; troubled waters & # 8221; do not play into their hands.
Thus, the country as a whole will be legalized. Everything should be really transparent. We already have enough services and special services that may have operational numbers for phones that are nowhere to be found. This is enough. All these fears are unfounded.
A non-new idea
The idea to bind phone numbers to passports does not sound for the first time.
Ukrainian parliamentarians started talking about this back in 2014 , and then again in 2017 and 2019, but it was not possible to implement it.
Now Ukrainians can bind a phone number to a passport of their own free will. This can be done both online and at the branch of the mobile operator. This requires a passport and identification code.
However, most Ukrainians do not sign a contract with a telecom operator. According to the Kyivstar company, about 80% of subscribers use SIM-cards anonymously .
However, if the relevant law is adopted this will apply to everyone .
The binding of numbers to passport data at the legal level is valid in many countries. In particular, lawyer Ivan Lieberman cited a successful example of Israel , where SIM cards are not sold anywhere without identity confirmation.
The Germans and Swiss were among the first to implement the initiative back in 2003. Currently, a SIM card without a passport cannot be purchased in more than 150 countries: Norway, Poland, France, Belgium, Australia, Russian Federation, Brazil, India, etc.
In Georgia, for example, to a SIM -cards are also associated with a driver's license . This is how drivers receive messages on their phones about fines due to violations.
