The government, law enforcement, mobile carriers, and the regulator are working together to combat the growing problem of subscriber identity module (SIM) card cloning in Namibia.
Emma Theofelus, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, lamented the increase in this crime, saying it was undoing progress made through the mandatory SIM card registration process.
"The SIM card registration process was very much necessary. Although scams are being reported, there has been a decline in (cyber) crimes," she stated.
Theofelus was speaking in the north-eastern Zambezi region at a regional engagement with the leaders of the aforementioned stakeholders.
She bemoaned the SIM cloning problem, saying: “Rapidly increasing. What we are seeing is the scammers getting smarter. Scammers have now come into the habit of cloning SIM cards. We are working closely with law enforcement to see how best we can arrest this. We also want citizens to try their best to be safe when they are online."
In a similar development, the Ministry of ICT has launched a cyber security awareness campaign in schools to protect learners and teachers from falling victim.
The exercise began this week at the Caprivi Secondary School in KatimaMulilo, Zambezi, and was led by Linda Aipinge-Nakale, the ministry's interim executive director, and Fillemon Johannes, director for ICT.
Officials stated that these activities were part of national efforts to improve cyberspace security and combat cybercrime, as detailed in the Southern African country's National digital Strategy.
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