Ban on SIM Farms: Government Response to Consultation

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Monday 27th November 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Security (Tom Tugendhat)]

I am today publishing a response to the consultation on the banning of SIM farms in the UK and introducing legislation that would criminalise the possession and supply of SIM farms used for fraud.



In May 2023, we consulted on a potential ban on SIM farms, defined as devices that can make calls and texts and hold more than four SIM cards at one time. We are grateful to those who took time to respond to the consultation.



Responses to the consultation support the Government’s approach to addressing the issue of SIM farm equipment being used to perpetrate fraud. Respondents agreed that the ban will raise the barrier to entry for those engaging in illegal activities, making it more difficult for them to obtain and exploit SIM farms for fraud.



This consultation has informed legislation that we have brought forward in the Criminal Justice Bill, creating a new criminal offence to supply or possess a SIM farm, subject to certain exemptions for legitimate use and where adequate due diligence has been undertaken. The offence will carry a penalty of an unlimited fine.



The provisions include measures to extend the offence to any other telecommunications device or other article where there is a significant risk of it being used for fraud.



This new offence will give police additional tools to disrupt criminals and make it more difficult to access and abuse SIM farms and similar technologies for fraud.



The response (CP 978) has been laid before the House and is available on www.gov.uk.

[HCWS70]