The gray zone: how a market is left for SIM-cards in Russia
In July, the state Duma will consider the bill toughening rules for selling mobile numbers. The law should eliminate the market of so-called left simok — that is purchased anonymously, without registering for a specific owner.
MOSCOW, 5 Jul — RIA Novosti, Anton Razmakhnin. In July, the state Duma will consider the bill toughening rules for selling mobile numbers. The law should eliminate the market of so-called left simok — that is purchased anonymously, without registering for a specific owner. The market is now in bloom and smells. About who buys and sells SIM cards without a passport, for which they are used and why this shop is still not covered in the material RIA Novosti.
Change of name without registration and SMS
“Free SIM card, free SIM card!” — this monotonous zazyvanie in the metro is already used as background noise. Ten meters away from the dealer, about the urn, a hill of discarded cards people take them to be polite and throw out a little further. Take one, read: “To activate the numbers required to replenish the balance.”
The nearest terminal is put to the specified number of test 50 rubles. Insert the card into the phone. Works! I now have a room, not tied to my passport, but to someone else it needs to be tied. I go to “my account” on the operator’s website: from now on, for all the phone bases I — “the monument of Maxim Bogdanovich”.
Who is M. N. Bogdanovich is unknown, but the SIM card in his name free of charge received by RIA Novosti from the street distributor.
Sell, buy, meet
An anonymous SIM card is necessary not only for illegal operations — sometimes with the left SIM’s just more comfortable, as they say subscribers who used such cards.
“Lost the phone, and passport, — says the resident of Vladimir Nikolay Vtorov. — The usual way to restore the connection was impossible, until you recover your documents. And to call it was necessary.”
Picked up a SIM card when the car was sold, so you do not get calls. Sold — out.Ekaterina Bogdanovskaya
Selling large items, especially cars, was mentioned in the other answers. Most often anonymous temporary SIM card to make sales on the popular classifieds site Avito, told RIA Novosti, Olga M., for several years, replaced about a dozen of these cards.
“How many stories, — says Olga, — when the phone number is reproduce withdraw money from the card. So in my ad on “Craigslist” is always the left that such SIM card. She tosses 100-200 rubles, I speak about two or three conversation with a possible buyer. And the real phone number is tied to a credit card — does not appear”.
Another area of use of such disposable cards Dating sites. “Registered with this number — said the Muscovite Jeanne Urazaeva. — And give this phone the couriers and taxi drivers to not calling then to know”.
Anonymous gods SMM
On an industrial scale left the SIM card used in the black SMM. After all the largest social network introduced the need to tie the account to the phone number, to engage in “botovodstvo” (ie create a fake page that then perform the required actions) has become more difficult.
Repeatedly bought these SIM cards in order to draw on their accounts in social networks and develop bots. Bots — the main instrument of struggle in SMM and online battles — both commercial and political.One of the capital political strategists on the condition of anonymity
To “swing” theme of the web, you need live chat, explained the strategist. Regular users, he said, respond better if you communicate with them is not PR, but a character with a legend appropriate to the project. Logically, if the goods for children is to promote and discuss the young mother, and spare parts for the motorcycle, a muscular biker in black leather jackets. Here to create these images and you need an anonymous SIM card to create an avatar, to make war to them, and if necessary — to “merge” without a trace.
Communication for terrorists
If I left the SIM card was used only for personal or work purposes, perhaps the authorities long could not pay attention to them. But among buyers of such rooms, a lot of those for whom anonymity is a way to cover their tracks in the Commission of a crime.
The main threat of the left. — is the rendering of intruders, i.e. terrorists, extremists, crooks, drug dealers and others. SIM card to a stranger, can negate the work of law enforcement to discover or prevent offences.Eva Rosenberger company “Telbook”
Among the most common offences committed by means of such SIM cards, fraud, Internet-trade and loans, said RIA Novosti attorney Alexander Karabanov. Often doing it the prisoners in the prison — their phones and SIM cards completely illegal, as means of communication in most prisons and colonies is prohibited.
The same anonymous SIM cards used by the terrorists to coordinate. Moreover, when the preparation of terrorist acts to change the numbers, they can several times a day, often together with a cheap cell phones. To track criminals using billing becomes much more difficult. But even a few hours delay in such situations can cost the lives of dozens of people.
All for the sake of the prize
In any official communication salon SIM card has long been sold only on the passport. But how would these packs left of SIM cards from street vendors?
“The sale numbers of all operators, as a rule, is carried out by dealers on the basis of Agency contracts, — said the lawyer Alexander Karabanov. — The latter, in turn, establishes a sales plan. If the plan is exceeded, the dealer can count on a hefty premium. In their pursuit of profit dealers make use of every opportunity, including sell SIM cards without registration. In addition, this card sell at an average price of 100 rubles, and its cost is in fact equal to zero, since with this method the sale of its services — for example, when breaking — in properly will not be performed”.
One of the working schemes, reported RIA Novosti employee of the Moscow salon of communication on the condition of anonymity, — the distribution of contracts where the operator already included a prepaid amount, for example 100. Instead of selling a contract for that amount (which is initially provided by the operator), the dealers can activate these cards, withdraw money from them, then activated the contracts to distribute free of charge.
The result is a situation when the unsuspecting citizen finds “hanging” on its passport phone numbers, absolutely it is not known. Disable them at the request of the owner. But about what these numbers actually mean, we still have to learn.
I calls itself off all the Moscow operators for several years, usually in late summer. Started with letters from the bailiffs on the subject of my alleged debt of MTS in the amount of something like 700 rubles. But I have never had a phone from MTS! Went to investigate.Paul Andreamosaic
According to Paul, sometimes he had to drop off five or six unknown telephone numbers every month.
“Operators all of these activities are not particularly interesting, says Eva Rosenberg from “Aloiska”. Their sales network they control, there is the registration of SIM cards is quite strict. But for the violation of those companies that take their SIM-card sales, the operator will not respond”.
Solutions
Amendments to the law on communications, which in July in the second reading the state Duma is considering, are designed to solve this problem. Two key provisions of the draft: check of the subscriber is available only for passport data, and if it is discovered that the passport data are false, the operator is obliged to disconnect the subscriber.
Another legislative novelty: from January 1, 2018 all messengers operating in Russia will be obliged to register their subscribers with reference to the phone number (which, in turn, accurately tied to the ID). In the end, the project suggested a group of senators headed by Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matviyenko, should cover the main “holes” in the security of communications.
“The sale of anonymous SIM cards prohibit a dozen years — he questioned the effectiveness of the project Eva Rosenberg from the project “Telbook”. Some bans are not enough, we need concrete action. For example, technical solutions to determine the actual cell phone user, not of the person who have signed the contract.”
Penalty for use of unregistered itself SIM cards should be tightened, and most importantly — become inevitable. This is the main condition under which it is possible to establish order in the sphere of mobile communications.Alexander Karabanovo
Note also that, in addition to SIM cards, mobile subscriber identificeret in the network a unique number to the phone IMEI. It also serves to locate the alleged owner of the suspicious number: and if the call is not used the same burner phone, identify the caller’s security services will not be difficult.