Government Set to Ban SIM Farms in European First

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The British government is planning to ban the supply and possession of SIM farms, in a bid to reduce mobile phone-enabled fraud.

Fraud minister Lord Hanson confirmed late last week that the ban would come into force six months after the Crime and Policing Bill receives Royal Assent.

From that time, running or supplying SIM farms will carry an unlimited fine in England and Wales and a £5000 fine in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

SIM farm devices hold multiple SIM cards, enabling cybercriminals more easily to carry out large-scale fraud operations such as smishing campaigns.

Read more on fraud: Government’s New Fraud Strategy Gets Lukewarm Reception

The ban is expected to be a first in Europe, when it comes into force. The government believes it is much needed, citing figures that fraud increased last year by 19%, and now accounts for more than 40% of all reported crime in England and Wales.

Rachel Andrews, head of corporate security at Vodafone UK, claimed the firm blocked over 73.5 million suspected scam messages in 2024, and over 38.5 million so far this year.

“As an industry, UK telecoms operators have blocked more than one billion suspected scam messages since 2023,” she added.

“However, we cannot fully tackle fraud in isolation, collaboration between industry and government is crucial. This is a really important step taken by the Home Office and we fully support the inclusion of SIM farms in the upcoming legislation.”

The government’s Hanson claimed the new ban would give law enforcement and industry partners much needed clarity to better protect the public. 

“Fraud devastates lives, and I am determined to take the decisive action necessary to protect the public from these shameful criminals,” he added.

“Two-thirds of British adults say they’ve received a suspicious message on their phone – equivalent to more than 35 million people – which is why cracking down on SIM farms is so vital to protecting the public.”

Matt Stanton, global VP at BioCatch, described the move as a “crucial step forward” in the battle against fraud.

 “SIM farms aren’t just shady. They’re industrial-scale crime machines. They pump out scam texts, power fake accounts and help fraudsters steal millions in minutes. Fraud is the UK’s most common crime, and it’s exploding across Europe. If other countries don’t act fast, they’re leaving the door wide open for scammers,” he said. 

“The UK just raised the bar. Now it’s Europe’s turn to follow.”