Kenya is among the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with the highest mobile phone use and the greatest global use of mobile internet when compared to desktops.
This makes having a registered SIM card a crucial step that forms an integral part of our daily life and work.
From reading emails to handling personal finances and shopping, the importance of SIM registration cannot be emphasized enough, especially concerning security.
Over the years, numerous complaints from customers have found that their National ID details have been used to register a number unknown to them. This happens without their consent and is often used to commit fraud or crimes.
Updating your SIM card details with Safaricom goes in line with the Communications Authority of Kenya’s (CA) mandate of ensuring that all customer mobile numbers are properly registered against the correct identification details provided by the owners of the SIM cards.
According to the CA, having a SIM card registered with incorrect details is illegal. This is why you have probably been receiving push messages from Safaricom asking you to go to and update your SIM card details.
In an advisory issued by the CA, every SIM card owner must register the line at the relevant shops or authorized dealers.
How to Update Your Safaricom SIM Card Details
Now is the time if you haven’t registered or updated your Safaricom SIM card details. Urgently visit the nearest Safaricom shop, dealer, or agent with original ID to get started.
This is particularly important if your details were erroneously entered, you changed the details of your ID, you lost your SIM card and can’t replace it, or if you are the rightful owner of a SIM card and the system tells you that it has already been registered by someone else.
Updating your details is a simple process that takes less than two minutes. This way, you don’t have to worry about being subjected to a lengthy process that consumes most of your time.
When you visit the nearest Safaricom shop, dealer, or authorized agent, they will:
- Key in your mobile number
- Scan the back of your original ID
- Capture a photo of you and that on the front of your ID
- Sign the online document (both the customer and the agent)
- Then the agent submits the details.
Please note that the person who has registered the line must be the one updating it. For example, husbands who register lines on behalf of their wives.
Similarly, minors must be accompanied by a parent or a guardian whose details will be used to register the line until they come of age. At this point, the two will also be required to visit a Safaricom Shop, customer care desk, Dealer, or Agent with their original IDs to update the details.
During the SIM card details upgrade, it is also possible to transfer ownership when both individuals visit the Safaricom shop with their original IDs.
What if Your ID Has Illegally Registered Numbers?
Safaricom launched the USSD Code *106# to help address many of the SIM card functions you might need, including checking for numbers registered with your ID without your consent. Using this menu, you can:
- Check your number(s) alongside the details used for their registration
- Report unknown numbers illegally linked to your ID
- Cancel any reported numbers
If you want to check the numbers associated with your National ID, just:
- Dial *106#.
- Select 1: Check my numbers.
It will show you all the numbers registered with your details. And if there are numbers there that you can’t recognize, you can simply:
- Dial *106#or go back to the Home
- Select 2: Report unknown number
- Choose the number you do not know.
- Double-check and confirm the number for reporting
If you accidentally report one of your valid numbers, you can return to the menu, cancel the reported number, and start again.
SIM Card registration is now the law, and every Kenyan MUST adhere to it. It will protect you from criminal elements out on the prowl, trying to get a quick buck off of you. So, what are you waiting for? Update your SIM card details today!
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