Vietnam: 13 Million Mobile Subscriptions Face Revocation Amid SIM Verification Mandate

Approximately 13 million mobile phone numbers in Vietnam are at risk of being revoked if their owners fail to complete identity verification by August 20. According to the Telecommunications Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications, following the implementation of Circular 08 for over two months, telecommunications enterprises have transferred data of more than 114 million subscriber numbers to the national population database. Among these, over 96 million have been "successfully confirmed and authenticated," indicating they belong to the legitimate owners. Circular 08, effective from April 15, requires users to verify their SIM card usage status through the VNeID application. Since June 15, SIMs that have not completed the verification process have been subject to one-way service suspension. Network operators' reports indicate that more than 3.8 million subscribers have subsequently updated their information. However, the remaining nearly 13 million numbers are still under one-way service suspension. If verification is not completed by August 15, these SIMs will face two-way service suspension. Five days later, on August 20, the phone numbers will be revoked if the subscriber owner still fails to complete the standardization process. A representative from a network operator stated that if a SIM is suspended one-way, users can restore the service in two ways. The first method involves logging into the operator's application and using VNeID for self-verification. Alternatively, users can visit a service point with their chip-embedded citizen identification card (CCCD) for assistance. This ongoing comprehensive review is the next step in cleaning up the mobile subscriber database. Previously, during a standardization drive in 2023, approximately 6 million SIMs were revoked and had their services terminated by network operators. The Telecommunications Authority asserts that the new regulation ensures that SIMs, after registration, are still used by the person in whose name they are registered. Mobile SIMs are "among the tools exploited to spread spam calls and messages," thus, the verification of legitimate SIM owners will contribute to limiting this situation. The authority advises all subscribers, especially vulnerable groups, to proactively access the VNeID application and monitor notifications from telecommunications enterprises to check and confirm the phone numbers registered under their names. According to the agency, proactive verification and management will not only "minimize risks and protect the rights of users themselves" but also contribute to building a safe and transparent telecommunications environment, promoting digital transformation. In addition to Circular 08, Decree 174, effective from July 1, stipulates fines for telecommunications subscribers who use inaccurate documents or the identification documents of another person, or the legal entity documents of another organization, to enter into standard form contracts. The penalty ranges from VND 200,000 to VND 500,000 for each SIM number. Fines increase to VND 5-10 million for violations involving 11 to 200 SIMs, VND 10-20 million for 201 to 500 SIMs, and VND 30-50 million for 501 or more SIMs. The decree also penalizes the failure to update changes in identification documents, or failure to update information upon receiving notification from the network operator about inaccurate subscriber details. Subscribers who fail to request reissuance or terminate contracts when a SIM is lost or no longer in use will also be fined depending on the number of SIMs involved.