Law professionals said that the country’s two telecommunication companies must have a foolproof mechanism in place to check papers while approving and issuing a replacement of SIM cards.

“In most cases of unauthorised bank transfers, offenders were able to carry out their nefarious design because they succeeded in getting SIM card replacement using forged documents,” said legal consultant Hassan Elhais from Al Rowaad Advocates.

He said that documents, including Emirates ID and passport copy attached to an application requesting a SIM card replacement, must be submitted by the applicant in person and verified in coordination with the competent authorities before the application is approved.

“By making the procedure more stringent, offenders won’t be able to get SIM card replacements to access a person’s bank pin code and other confidential data that allows them to make unauthorised money transfers,” said Elhais.