Vodafone breached prepaid verification rules

Vodafone has made an enforceable undertaking to regulator ACMA to improve its processes for verifying the identity of prepaid mobile customers after being found to be in breach of verification regulations.

An investigation by the telecoms regulator found that the company failed to verify the identity of at least 1028 customers before activating their prepaid mobile services between January 2015 and January 2016.

The investigation found that the breaches resulted from changes to Vodafone’s online ordering systems that allowed customers to self-select that their identity had been verified in-store. There were no checks in place to ensure this verification has actually occurred.

“Verifying the identity of prepaid mobile customers helps law enforcement and national security agencies obtain accurate information about the identity of customers for the purposes of their investigations,” ACMA Acting Chair James Cameron said.

“Telcos must check that changes to their IT systems don’t run the risk of contravening legal requirements.”

As part of the undertaking, Vodafone has committed to conducting a review and risk assessment for any future proposed changes to its IT systems and processes. The company will also conduct training programs as well as compliance audits every six months, and report the results to ACMA.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Erik Khalitov

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