Home Contracting and the Need for My Number Card Due to Rise in SIM Swap Fraud in Mobile Phone Contracts

Planned for Implementation Within This Fiscal Year.

Smartphones, now an indispensable presence, will generally require a My Number Card (My Number Card) for mobile phone contracts. The government has summarized a ‘comprehensive measure to protect citizens from fraud’ in June, aiming for implementation within this fiscal year.

The government’s aim is to promote the My Number Card, which centralizes personal information management such as health insurance cards and driver’s licenses, and to enhance security as well.

On the other hand, there have been reports of troubles such as being unable to use the My Number Card instead of the health insurance card due to issues with the medical institution’s reader, forcing reliance on the health insurance card. There are also concerns about centralizing personal information with the My Number Card. Will it be alright?

Regarding the initial measures for identity verification, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takeaki Matsumoto pointed out at a June press conference, ‘Cases are increasing where forged identity verification documents are used to illegally contract mobile phones, and these are being misused in crimes such as fraud, unauthorized payments, and illegal remittances,’ and emphasized the need for countermeasures.

SIM Swap Fraud Rampant with Damage in the Hundreds of Millions of Yen Overseas!

Mobile phone devices typically use a SIM card that enables calls and communication. Issued by mobile phone companies like NTT Docomo, SoftBank, and au, a SIM with a phone number is necessary to make calls.

In ‘SIM swap fraud,’ the perpetrator impersonates the victim, typically lying at a mobile phone company’s store about losing their phone and requesting a SIM reissue. For in-store identity verification, forged identification documents such as driver’s licenses are used, created from personal information like the victim’s name and address.

When the perpetrator inserts the reissued SIM into the prepared mobile phone device, it becomes possible to make calls and communicate using the victim’s phone number. There have been reports of damage such as the theft of bank account deposits due to this SIM swap fraud.

In May of this year, a city council member in Osaka found that their phone suddenly lost signal. Upon contacting the mobile phone company, it was discovered that the perpetrator, impersonating the victim, might have used a forged My Number Card at a store in Aichi Prefecture to change the phone model. Subsequently, it was revealed that over 2 million yen worth of brand-name watches had been fraudulently purchased using the victim’s credit card. The victim has set up their own site to raise awareness of such incidents and is calling for vigilance against crime.

In addition to the case involving the Osaka city council member, there have been multiple reports of SIM swap fraud, with cases overseas involving damages amounting to hundreds of millions of yen.