Fine for subscribers who intentionally use an unauthorized SIM
This is the regulation stated in Article 34 of Decree 174 on sanctioning administrative violations in the fields of postal, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions and information technology, effective from July 1.
Specifically, telecommunications subscribers who use documents with inaccurate information or other people's identification documents or legal entity certification documents of other organizations to enter into contracts according to the form will be fined 200,000-500,000 VND for each subscriber number, if violating from 1 to 10 numbers.
The fine increases to 5-10 million VND if violating from 11 to 200 subscribers; 10-20 million VND with 201-500 subscribers and 30-50 million VND if 501 subscribers or more.
The Decree also penalizes acts of not updating changes in identification documents; Do not update when detecting incorrect subscription information or after receiving notification from the network operator. Subscribers who do not request the network to reissue or terminate the contract when they lose or no longer use the SIM will also be fined. The amount of fine depends on the number of subscribers.
For telecommunications businesses, if they violate the regulations on entering into form contracts, transaction conditions, storing and using subscriber information, they can be subject to the highest fine of up to 200 million VND and suspension of new subscriber development for 1 to 7 months.
According to a representative of the Department of Telecommunications, the new regulations aim to clarify the responsibilities of SIM subscribers, in addition to the responsibilities of telecommunications businesses.
The regulations aim to punish cases of "deliberately" using SIM cards that are not owned by the owner, such as renting or lending personal information to register a subscription or buying or selling pre-activated SIM cards without transferring them to the owner's name according to regulations. "This is considered one of the causes of the situation of junk SIMs and pre-activated SIMs in recent times," said a representative of the Department of Telecommunications.
Responding to concerns about "Will users of unauthorized SIMs be punished if they go to the network to update their information?", a representative of the Department of Telecommunications said that people who proactively update their subscription information will not be punished.
Sharing with VnExpress, a representative of the Department of Telecommunications said that subscriber owners will bear "joint responsibility" when the SIM is used for illegal acts, or is on the list of pre-activated SIMs of violating business locations. For example, during the inspection of a SIM business location, the person whose name is on the pre-activated phone number may be invited to verify and clarify responsibility.
According to the management agency, along with the penalty regulations, people can now look up all subscription numbers in their name on the VNeID application, confirm the numbers in use, detect and proactively remove subscribers that are not under their control.
A representative of the Department of Telecommunications said that mobile users proactively verify and manage subscription numbers in their names not only help protect their own rights but also limit junk SIMs and build a safe and transparent telecommunications environment.
Data from the total subscriber review in 2026 shows that more than 93 million phone numbers have confirmed their owners on VNeID, more than two million numbers have been identified as not having their owners. About 18 million phone numbers whose usage status has not been confirmed have been blocked for outgoing calls since June 15. These subscription numbers will have to verify the information, otherwise the contract will be revoked and terminated according to regulations.
Trong Dat