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© mroach

Some SIM card vendors in Nigeria have been arrested by Nigerian security agencies for selling pre-registered SIM cards to consumers. The suspects were arrested after selling these cards to undercover security agents in Abuja. Sale of pre-registered SIM cards is illegal as it interferes with the ongoing government effort to register all SIM cards in the country.

The number of SIM card vendors arrested in the operation was not disclosed, but the new law governing SIM card registration specifies punishment of fines or imprisonment, or both, for offenders. The new regulations require subscribers to personally register their SIM cards on new phones in order to activate them, with no proxy registrations allowed. The laws took effect in February of this year, and from that time all SIM cards purchased in the country are only able to receive text messages or calls but cannot originate any communications prior to registration with operators who issue the SIM cards.

© Sean MacEntee

A Mac rumors site recently reported that a prototype 3G Macbook Pro was listed on Craigslist for sale. The model was originally purchased for parts, but the buyer was apparently able to repair it to functional condition and resell it instead. The machine included a SIM card slot on one side and had an extendable antenna to receive 3G signals.

The prototype was built in 2007 for testing purposes and for various reasons it was never developed fully enough to make it to the Apple Store. The 15 inch Macbook Pro model illustrates an intention by Apple to manufacture 3G models that would allow users to stay connected wherever they go. However, due to the difficulties of negotiating a partnership with the major mobile carriers, the company reportedly dropped the plans.

© kalleboo

Mobile carrier Vodacom has recently launched a new anti fraud feature which locks a SIM card if there is irregular call activity detected. The new security feature is designed to protect customers from increasing mobile phone fraud by automatically locking the SIM card. The number of fraud incidents which are due to International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF) has been on the increase.

This type of scam involves stolen SIM cards or handsets which are used by a syndicate to dial international toll numbers, resulting in bills up to R120,000 for victims. These incidents have recently increased to more than 20 per month as it became clear that the traditional security features like limit-lock were ineffective against this type of fraud. The new security measures implemented by Vodacom resemble those used by major credit card companies to detect and pre-empt fraud.