PTA wants anyone buying a SIM or using another telecom service to give their fingerprints only at an operator’s authorised customer service centre, franchise or approved sales outlet. Before pressing a thumb on a scanner, the regulator says, ask what the print is being collected for.
The advice came in a public awareness message. Each time you give a print, PTA suggests jotting down which operator it was, plus the shop’s name and address.
The message asks people to avoid sharing biometric details with anyone or any shop that is not authorised, and describes its goal as preventing misuse of that data.
Only three kinds of counter qualify: an operator’s own service centre, a franchise or an approved sales point. A street vendor, a shop with no tie to an operator, or a stranger who approaches you offering a SIM is not on that list, and PTA’s advice is to decline to give a print there and ask what it is for.
It comes after PTA’s earlier warning about callers posing as courier staff, who claim a parcel is on its way and ask for a one-time password to complete delivery. PTA’s advice there is never to give an OTP to anyone, whatever company the caller names.
The regulator is also looking at the number of voice SIMs allowed on one ID card, as a report from 14 November described, which is a separate matter from this advice.
No new rule or penalty came with the message, so these steps are advice: check the outlet is the operator’s own or an approved franchise, and keep the details of where you gave your fingerprints.
