People who have more than five mobile SIM cards must register their identities at customer service centres or on mobile operator apps from Jan 16 to ensure the cards are not terminated after the registration deadline.
The move conforms with recent measures by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) regarding identity verification and information on service usage by mobile phone users, set to take effect on Jan 16.
Roughly 300,000 people with a combined 6 million SIM cards are subject to the new measures, said the regulator.
All three mobile operators said on Friday they plan to comply with the measures, which are meant to curb cybercrime.
The operators are ready to help customers verify their identities.
According to NBTC commissioner Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, SIM cards are used by criminal groups to commit fraud, especially call centre gangs, who use them to make calls to victims or send messages with a link.
NBTC issued the measures to prevent this fraud on both online and offline platforms, especially prepaid mobile numbers with either no user registration, or incorrect, incomplete and out-of-date information.
As part of the measures, those who hold between 6-100 SIM cards must verify their identity within 180 days, starting from Jan 16.
People who hold 101 SIM cards or more must verify their identity within 30 days.
If people fail to verify their identities on time, they cannot make outgoing calls.
If the target group fails to verify their identities within 30 days after the deadlines, all services on their SIM cards will be terminated.
Pol Gen Nathathorn said the NBTC and major mobile operators expect the measures will not affect the majority of users, as the estimate is 300,000 users projected to require verification, accounting for 0.5% of total users on all networks.
The NBTC called in representatives of the three mobile operators for a final discussion before enforcement on Jan 16.
The three operators comprise Advanced Info Service (AIS), True Corporation and National Telecom.
Waroonthep Watcharaporn, head of business relations at AIS, said the company is committed to facilitating customers in accordance with this policy.
Notifications via SMS will be sent to numbers that require verification, prompting action on Jan 16. The sender will be listed as AIS with no attached link, he said.
This measure aims to preserve customer rights and prevent temporary suspension, according to AIS.
Customers can verify their identities through many channels, including at AIS Shop, AIS Telewiz, and nationwide distributors.
Alternatively, customers can verify their identities through by dialling *161*2*ID Card Number# and making a free call, following SMS instructions.
In addition, prepaid customers can use the myAIS App.